The Magical Garden's Exhibition

As the US is overjoyed by the magic of the Solar Eclipse, we the people, find ourselves mesmerized by the magic we witnessed as the moon and the sun come together creating a cosmic totality like no other. In one day and within minutes light is taken over by darkness. And, with each movement of the moon bypassing the sun, weaves of shadows unseen before are being created, leaving traces of this magic that has taken over and the globe, and captured the hearts of its people.

There is another type of magic captivating the art world and especially in NYC in a significant exhibition titled "The Magical Garden" at Lichtundfire in Manhattan's Lower East Side on Rivington Street. The group exhibit brings together varying styles and views of what a magical garden entails with some abstraction in painting and in photography, as well as representational depictions of landscapes, and vases with flowers signifying the variation of how each artist within the show approaches the subject matter through their own perspective. The "Magical Garden" concept is by by Priska Juschka. Per the gallery, The Magical Garden exhibition "describes and comments on a sensation of natural wonder and bliss while simultaneously going under the surface— when innocence is lost, and when The Magical Garden turns from a children’s story to adult fiction."

The exhibition is from April 4 till April 27.
There will be a Curatorial Walk-thru Reception concurrent with the Lower East Side Galleries Open on Thursday, April 18, 6-8 PM
LICHTUNDFIRE is located at:
175 Rivington Street
New York City, NY 10002
Gallery Open Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, 12 - 6 PM

For this exhibition, noted multidisciplinary artist, Vian Borchert, created new artwork that project her love for everything garden related and zoomed into the magical beauty of Sakura and the Cherry Blossom trees. For Borchert, the latest theme of Lichtundfire April exhibition brought joy to the artist since Vian loves beautiful gardens and feels a magical element when she is in them. These sentiments started at a younger age, being in gardens made Borchert feel good and healthy. Growing up with parents and grandparents who had gardens instated in the artist a love for mother nature and its bounties. Thus, naturally, for Vian having a garden is a form of connection to the earth and its splendid rewards. The artist states, "Growing up we had numerous trees and flowers in our garden. I remember as a child walking around the pretty pink rose bushes smelling from one flower to another. The exquisite aromas of the roses' scents along with the jasmines' fragrances still linger in my olfactory memory. My whole senses were perforated in my childhood garden. It was a treasure, the flowers, their beauty and natural abundance." Around this time, in April, one can already see the blossoming trees with their pink petals as they unveil their Spring fashion collection to the world and awe us all with their annual beauty. It is like magic every year, Spring comes around and the pink cherry blossoms pop-up, awakening us again to the renewal and rebirth along with the magical beauty of Springtime. In 2015, Borchert took it upon herself to paint a number of Cherry Blossom themed paintings that created a ripple effect in the East coast especially in cities such as Washington DC, NYC and beyond, becoming a source of inspiration for numerous artists to follow after. With the "Magical Garden" concept, Borchert exclaims that she "went back to the same enchanting place that I visited before, and aimed to revisit it again artistically with new paintings that embody a modern, edgier and minimal touch but still reflect the awe and wonder of the Cherry Blossom season. The paintings are delivered through my abstracted aesthetics and painterly touch. The new paintings marry together the magical sensations along with my abstract sensibility to bring forth works that are playful, joyful along with a mystery and enigma to the Spring-full magical concept. I kept thinking about Sakura (桜) - which mean “cherry blossom” in Japanese, and also: to bloom, or alternately to smile/laugh. It's true, the sight of cherry blossom trees does bring a smile to the face as well as a twinkle to the eye." It is indeed quite the sight to see, beautiful Sakuras lined up, pretty, framing a panoramic vista with their branches, pink petals, overlooking water views: rivers, ponds, lakes. Borchert continues by saying, "Sakuras are a feast to the eyes, and a joy to the soul. One approaches such natural beauty as a child awakened to a Birthday gift. Sakuras are nature’s gifts to us in the time of renewal and rebirth of the magical season Spring."

The paintings are executed in the acrylic on canvas medium in the artist's signature abstract expressionist painterly touch and are intentionally suggestive rather than explicit to bring about imagination along with a sense of wonder to the meditative elements that such a season emits. Borchert states, "As the coming of spring exudes rebirth, as the blooming of the cherry blossoms arouse awakening and recommencement – life unfolds its offerings as one takes one step after another within one’s journey."

The artwork is available at Lichtundfire. Be sure to see this amazing group exhibition this April.

For more about the exhibit, visit Lichtundfire's link for "The Magical Garden":

https://www.lichtundfire.com/l...