Radian Gallery is pleased to present Moda Botanica, an exhibition featuring the works of Sarang Byrne, Ronnie Genotti, Don Hershman, Athena Kim, Linda Larson, Libby Mitchell, Ali Saif, et. al. The show is available for viewings by appointment only from April 25, 2023 through May 30, 2023 at Radian Gallery, 440 Brannan Street, San Francisco.

Moda Botanica is more than just a celebration of the beauty and complexity of plants – it’s a testament to the spring reawakening of our society following the long winter of the pandemic interval. The artists featured in the show explore the colors, textures, and forms of nature’s splendor while also applying the same exploration to human experience and emotion. The breadth of the show is immediately apparent, with a wide range of styles and techniques on display from the seven local San Francisco artists.

Linda Larson’s intimate oil on panel fantasy gardens draw the viewer into another realm, one full of magic light, exquisite detailing, and an overall feeling of lushness that conveys a sense of calm and wonderment. The dark and mysterious “Crepuscular” is particularly evocative of the elfen world Larson’s work creates, with glowing leaves and flowers emerging from an impossibly black thicket that is more dream-state than reality.

Libby Mitchell’s mixed media work featuring majestic California Live Oaks are a study in contrasts, as trees cut out of natural brown kraft paper grocery bags sit on geometrically patterned fields of bold acrylic color. The juxtaposition would be jarring if it were not so visually engaging.

Ronnie Genotti’s 6-foot-tall and 20-foot-long oil on canvas, “Gethsemane” is epic in both proportion and subject matter. Genotti’s energetic brush strokes weave back and forth, as if a wind is blowing through the canvas itself. Another of his works, “Hermano,” is an explosion of floral abundance, as if a bouquet suddenly began to spontaneously and exponentially multiply.

Athena Kim’s bold and colorful acrylic canvases are abstract seas of undulating reds, oranges, and gold wherein the viewer can discern tulips as if viewed from mere inches in front of their face. “Lucid Flower,” which at 60” x 72” is a stop-you-in-your-tracks artwork with the flower petals rendered as rich, sumptuous colourfields.

Sarang Byrne’s delicate and playful watercolors on Yupo dance irrepressibly, in contrast to those masses of color. The titles describe the flowers being represented, such as “Gloriosa” and White Iris,” but they in no way describe the intense visual engagement the viewer feels to these frenetic and endlessly fascinating works.

Don Hershman’s iconic botanical “portraits” stand in quiet sentinel, as in “Thistle #1” and “Thistle #3.” In “Yellow Flowers,” a trio of chartreuse poppies strike poses as if they were modern dancers spotlighted against a darkened stage.

To round out the show, the dashing, colorful energy of Ali Saif’s oil on canvas tulip pictures layer bright highlights of yellow over deep rich backgrounds of a deep red pigment, as in “Tulips no.3 on Bull’s Blood,” or a shifting background of cool Payne’s Gray in “Tulips no.1 on Blue."