{"product_id":"chloe-holt-rca-frsa-the-ecstasy-of-bloom","title":"Chloë Holt RCA FRSA - “The Ecstasy of Bloom”","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA major still-life by Chloë Holt, depicting late-summer dahlias, echinacea and flowers gathered from our garden at the height of their abundance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChloë has always been fascinated by the fleeting moments within a garden: flowers at their fullest, changing light, petals beginning to fall and that brief point at which beauty becomes almost excessive. In \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Ecstasy of Bloom\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the flowers are not treated as a formal arrangement but allowed to crowd and overlap, creating an exuberant composition that moves between observation and abstraction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePainted in oil, walnut ink and mixed media over gesso, the surface is characteristically rich and physical. Deep crimson, burgundy and near-black blooms emerge through passages of chalky white and soft pink, with fluid drawn marks and heavily worked paint creating movement throughout. Light settles across the petals as presence rather than drama, concentrating attention on the intensity of bloom at its fullest, most celebratory moment.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChloë has paired the painting with a magnificent antique gilded frame, its exuberant scrolling ornament punctuated by satyr faces. The choice is deliberate: the satyrs, with their historic associations with nature, fertility and Dionysian revelry, amplify the sense of abundance within the painting. Antique frame and contemporary painting become part of the same composition, celebrating the garden at its most luxuriant and almost ecstatic.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChloë Holt RCA FRSA is an award-winning British artist and my wife. One of the youngest artists ever elected to the Royal Cambrian Academy, she won the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKyffin Williams Drawing Prize in 2012\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and in 2010 was awarded the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInternational Lorenzo il Magnifico Prize at the Florence Biennale\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for her works on paper.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chris Holmes Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483800641909,"sku":"BLOOMCH","price":8800.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0633\/6007\/3956\/files\/8A1F50CB-7535-4E3B-B06D-630D6891A03D.jpg?v=1786214219","url":"https:\/\/chrisholmesantiques.co.uk\/products\/chloe-holt-rca-frsa-the-ecstasy-of-bloom","provider":"Chris Holmes Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}