Nick Knight's 'Roses From My Garden' Returns to Waddesdon Manor
Reopening to the public on Wednesday 19 May is Knight's long-anticipated Roses exhibition 'Roses From My Garden' which will feature new works alongside images previously shown at Waddesdon Manor last year.
Reopening to the public on Wednesday 19 May is Knight's long-anticipated Roses exhibition 'Roses From My Garden' which will feature new works alongside images previously shown at Waddesdon Manor last year.
A long-devoted fan of the rose and its encapsulating process of life and decay, Nick Knight's Roses From My Garden series will be returning to Waddesdon Manor on Wednesday 19 May - Sunday 31 October 2021, in partnership with Albion Barn and Michael Hue-Williams. Although not a new show with no new works on display, this time, the exhibition will follow a slightly different arrangement to the last - helping viewers to see the artwork in new light in guidance with the gradual lockdown easing measures.
Knight's admiration for the flowering shrub has long existed outside of his seminal Roses series, which started seven years ago. Having been photographing them since 1993, Knight's fascination lies in the flower's short life and the subsequent process of a decaying rose; themes Roses From My Garden deal with, through an intimate (not to mention intricate) lens. Concentrating on the melancholic beauty of the rose and its power to bewilder, Knight looked to the tradition of 17th and 18th century Dutch and Flemish still-life paintings as inspiration, using them to fuel his own work in a fundamentally modern way.
Knight said of the reopening of the exhibition:
'When I saw my Roses From My Garden series at Waddesdon Manor's Stables Gallery, it really felt like the perfect place to exhibit this series, so I was truly delighted to be asked to extend and refresh the show for 2021's season for all those who missed visiting during this year's lockdown.'
Despite many activities having come to an abrupt halt this year, this week's reopening of indoor spaces, including galleries such as Waddesdon Manor, provide hope for the future; where better to spend your time than at an exhibition showcasing mother nature in its most natural, harmonious form. Taken on an iPhone, then run through artificial intelligence, these images posses a hyperreal quality, evoking a visceral reaction for all who lay eyes on them.
After a year of renewal and appreciation for the every day, Knight's Roses From My Garden exhibition serves as the perfect reminder of the year we've had; life and death, continuation and regeneration - the opportunity to mend, transform and grow.