The delicacy of broken joy

With Hearts and Flowers, Archival Gallery will stay within the theme of love for February. Paintings by artist Blue Reid of anatomical hearts—pulsing, dripping or blackened against a cracked gold background—encapsulate the visceral surge of emotions. They visualize the delicacy of broken joy. Alongside Reid’s work, David Seals’ floral photography will also be on display. In a similar vein, Georgia O’Keeffe’s famous magnified flower paintings still incite discussions on whether they were intended to depict human female genitalia or simply the plant; biologically, flowers are essentially the genitalia of the plant. Who knows if anyone will to venture to call Seals’ bright, sharp closeups of blooms “plant porn,” but the artist calls them “representations of … beauty, peace, and love.”