Flowers

Thanks to a daily walk through the natural beauty of the Campine region, an artist comes to new insights. This intense experience of nature and witnessing the changing of the seasons resulted in a series of new works revolving around the theme 'flowers'.

The artist can't do it around flowers that bloom as a harmonious unit in a garden or field. It is about the result of human intervention in arranging these flowers into majestic showpieces. But nothing is what it seems. The flowers in these flower arrangements are not flowers. They are the well known pots that become flowers. And these 'potted flowers' are arranged into real flower arrangements or bouquets in vases.

Laurent got his inspiration for the vases from the beginning of his career. In addition to a whole series of small works with bouquets, he created large paintings such as 'Butterflowers' and 'Primavera'. There is also - just like the changing of the seasons - a change in the use of colour: a powerful, contrasting black and white pallet gives way to a cheerful, sunny, golden yellow.

This yellow in the bouquets is inspired by a canvas by the Parisian painter Balthus. This series of bouquets and floral arrangements on canvas was complemented by images finished in gold leaf and with extraordinary bronze bouquets.