KIM KAUFFMAN (Kunst)

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The title of Kim Kauffman's stunning photographic series, Florilegium, means "a gathering of flowers" and is derived from books of voluptuous flower paintings that proliferated in the 1600 and 1700's as Europeans traveled the world and commissioned artists to document the botanical treasures they discovered.

Florilegium combines flowers, leaves, seed pods and other objects of nature collected from gardens, with multiple images layered to create an abstract visual environment. The combinations are not necessarily real but bring to the forefront an intricacy of form that otherwise might be missed--the curve of a petal, the vein texture of a leaf, the pattern of seeds dispersing. Many are past their prime but are of interest precisely for that reason - they possess a subtle beauty that plants in full bloom do not.

After experimenting with many analog methods to combine images, Kim discovered a photo-collage technique that allows her to meld images seamlessly, using a flatbed scanner and digital process. The results are exquisite compositions with extraordinary richness of detail.

Kim's work has been featured in various publications, has won numerous national awards and has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions around the country. In addition to creating her own work, Kim teaches photography courses and seminars and advises photography students on portfolio development.

All images are limited edition archival pigment prints of cameraless photo-collage and are available in three size formats, 16" x 20", 24" x 30" and 32" x 40".

http://galeriebmg.com/kim_kauffman_exhibition.html