A Rose by Any Other Name: inside Nick Knight’s Latest Exhibition
The legendary OBE Fashion Photographer Nick Knight’s latest exhibition “Roses” explores the fragility and beauty of the flower.
Prolific photographer and V contributor Nick Knight has never done a still life exhibit in the UK: until this coming Sunday, June 23. His latest exhibition is a study of still life and is split into two distinct series, Rose Photo Paintings and Roses from My Garden.
Many of the works on display have seldom been published or previously exhibited. Most of the images were shot in the privacy of Knight’s own home with very little by way of set or props. Presented by the Albion Barn (Art Gallery), the large-scale exhibition space provides the perfect country backdrop for the show.
The ‘Rose Photo Paintings’ series was inspired by still life painters of the 16th and 17th centuries. They were created with heat and water to achieve a dripping effect, a very physical process which has taken Knight 10 years to perfect.
You can expect to find romanticized large-scale prints (part photography, part painting) that explore the life cycle of a rose. Images show flowers in full bloom while others show decay.
In the second part of the show, Roses from my Garden, Knight explores the deterioration of the rose further with “bruised petals and broken stems”. Knight plays with daylight, composition and pastel colors to “dramatize the transient nature of beauty”.
With a career that spans over forty years, Knight has shot the likes of Kylie Jenner, Lady Gaga and Kate Moss.
The exhibition ‘Roses’ runs from June 23 to September 22 2019 at the Albion Barn Art Gallery, Oxford, England. It’s free to the public, by appointment only.
You can preview some of the images below.