My Secret Garden, Twelve Months paintings 2019

Arne Quinze made "My Secret Garden, Twelve Months paintings" using paint on large, shaped canvases. These aren't your typical rectangular paintings. The artist used an unusual oval shape, with an unexpected notched detail. The paintings display a riot of colors and thick impasto, giving them a sculptural quality. The surfaces aren’t smooth and flat, but built up with layers of brushstrokes, which are a testament to the labor involved. These pieces speak to the idea of the garden as a cultivated space, something that is very carefully constructed. While gardens are often viewed as sites of leisure, the paintings remind us of the amount of work required to create and maintain these beautiful landscapes. They also suggest something of the cycle of consumerism, given the market value of floral displays and the labor required to produce them. By emphasizing the physical act of painting and the illusion of the garden, Quinze blurs the lines between traditional art forms and the realities of labor, production, and beauty in our everyday lives.