It’s time to start getting excited for the best artistic and cultural mashup in The Art League Gallery since Art on the Rocks! The Ikebana Show, May 31–June 3, is the very cool exhibit that’s held only in years with an Olympics.
The Ikebana Show is the result of a long-time collaboration with the flower artists from the Washington, DC branch of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, who will pair their unique arrangements with fine art in every medium.
This year, the Ikebana Show is presented in conjunction with “Tea,” an international juried exhibit of ceramic forms related to drinking and enjoying tea.
The Sogetsu School teaches a contemporary, “no limits” Ikebana, in which students don’t emulate nature, but instead use flowers and other plants to create lines, hues, and masses of their own creation. During this short exhibit, members will be in the gallery to maintain the installations, water the flowers, and answer questions.
Twenty-two of the arrangers came by the Torpedo Factory in April to choose artwork — paintings, photographs, sculpture, mixed-media — and the vessels to hold their floral arrangements. On May 31, they’ll return, bringing in armfuls of fresh-cut flowers to create their arrangements before that evening’s opening reception.
The reception will include awards for the ceramics exhibit, “Tea,” and a performance by the Washington Toho Koto Ensemble. The koto players will return for an encore performance on the last day of the exhibit, preceded by a flower arranging demonstration.
Ikebana events in the gallery:
Make sure to come see the show, May 31–June 3. We’ll have more photos and videos to remind you, too. Your next chance to see the Ikebana Show won’t be until 2014!
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