What does a flower need to bloom? Sunlight, water, and… a bit of peace and quiet? Comparing his portraits of glamorous women to the seduction of soft petals, Canadian pop-surrealist Troy Brooks presents BLOOM, a new series of oil paintings that catch women in moments of growth or transformation. The exhibition opens May 18, 2024, at Corey Helford Gallery (CGH) in downtown Los Angeles.
Featuring over 20 new works, BLOOM marks Troy's fourth solo show at CHG, following Through A Glass Darkly (Aug. 2020), Skinwalker (Feb. 2018), and The B-Girls (Dec. 2017). “My motivation with [BLOOM] was to convey moments of recognition, where a woman might notice her own likeness in the curve and design of nature,” says Troy. “With each painting, I realized I was creating a visual space in contrast to the chaotic pace and media pollution of the modern world. This series was intended to evoke calm and serenity, with a sensory response to the qualities of spring.”
Eerily seductive and intensely emotional, Troy’s BLOOM portraits are influenced by a heady mixture of film noir, ancient mythology, and garden-party antics. “These women are verdant, ethereal, enveloped by clusters of cyclopean flowers,” says Troy. “They hold court in pools of vivid colors and dappled light. Each figure poses in a reaching movement, suggesting a tranquil sequence of garden ballets.”
The series represents a “growth spurt” for Troy, whose “brushwork grew more confident and expressive than it has ever been.” His elongated faces recall the elegant ambiguity of a Pre-Raphaelite portrait in all its melancholy moping but trade the natural hues for surreal swimming pool blues, aquamarines, and blush pinks. Glossy and airbrushed, Troy’s BLOOM paintings vibrate with a modern color palette that begs to be plucked and put in a vase.
Instead, Troy observes these women and gives them room to grow as big and beautiful as they’d like. “Working on my ‘bloom girls’ in the context of a series gave these radiant characters room to branch out into the other elements, from earth then to wind, fire, and water,” he says. “What began as an ebullient bouquet of color and motion flourished into a study of the eternal feminine energies in nature and the quiet intimacy of a woman in moments of profound stillness and reflection.”
Open to the public and free of charge, BLOOM opens May 18, 2024, at Corey Helford and runs through June 22 in Gallery 2 alongside Ben Frost’s This Way Up in the Main Gallery and a four-artist show in Gallery 3. For more information, please visit Corey Helford Gallery here.
“These women are verdant, ethereal, enveloped by clusters of cyclopean flowers.” — Troy Brooks
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All photos published with permission of the artist(s).
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