D’Arcy Simpson Art Works presents: “Flora as Fauna” by Emily Ritz

Join us for the opening of Flora as Fauna, a show featuring new work by Emily Ritz, at D’Arcy Simpson Art Works. Experience Ritz’s richly detailed works in watercolor and ink that combine feminine eroticism with lush fantasies of botanical life.

Emily Ritz’s richly detailed paintings evoke lush fantasies of botanical life that are sensual, pure and alive. She has created a world where human form and plant form are symbiotic; spiritually and physically connected. The textures and colors are inspired by coral reefs, moss and cactus groves but are subconscious inventions that create a world of abundance, acceptance and self-love–beyond earthly constraints and boundaries.

The figures in Ritz’s paintings are of her own body. They are intensely feminine and sumptuous, mingling eroticism with botanical forms. “My art practice is a way that I can experience myself and heal myself in a world that is beyond corruption, it is an escape to a place of total coexistence with nature.”

The show consists of three large works on paper and nine pieces on wood panel. The works on paper are watercolor and ink and each one requires over 150 hours of assiduous, detailed drawing to achieve the textures and extraordinary movement of form. “Coral Dreaming” and “Moss Me” each took two months of full time drawing to complete. The paintings on wood panels mark the first time the artist has included acrylic paint in her practice.

Emily is also an accomplished musician and has toured for over a decade. Her second album, In Love Alone, was released in 2021. Her music and lyrics explore duality of existence, playing loneliness against catharsis, longing against healing, and solitude against love. Her art and music are linked by these themes.

“Flora As Fauna” will be on view at D’Arcy Simpson Art Works Aug 6th-September 10th. The show can also be viewed at darcysimpsonartworks.com.