The Hypnotic Work of Jean-Michel Othoniel Blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

“Jean-Michel Othoniel: The Flowers of Hypnosis” elegantly unfolds this summer within the blooming landscape of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In partnership with Dior’s Cultural Gardens initiative, the multi-disciplinary French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel presents six mesmeric sculptures for the urban oasis, inspired by a deep respect and admiration for the glory of flora and fauna. Othoniel’s sensual sculptures ebb and flow organically throughout bountiful gardens and terraces, welcoming visitors to bask in the beauty of our environment and its profound influence on the human spirit.

“Jean-Michel has a passion for gardens, flowers, and the natural world that reveals itself in his works for The Flowers of Hypnosis, which respond to and enhance their garden settings,” said President of Brooklyn Botanic Garden Adrian Benepe. “This exhibition offers unexpected sights and encounters around BBG, making a visit to the Garden even more enchanting.” Embarking upon the Lily Pool Terrace will introduce guests to the Mirror Lotus sculptures, large-scale, reflective bead installations which seemingly float atop the water. The romantic Fragrance Garden is home to Gold Rose, a significant motif for Othoniel as expressed in his lush 2019 paintings for the Louvre. Here a soothing artwork both graceful and strong of gilded pearls comes to fruition as a beacon of love and light.

The three sculptures of Gold Lotus are viewable in the picturesque Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden; gold leaf and stainless steel intertwine in a dance of freedom and eternal hope. “Gardens leave a great deal of space for the irrational, the inexplicable, the extravagant; they are places of mystery, magic, and secrecy,” explained Othoniel. “The large sculptures in gold and mirrors installed on the water are there to hypnotize us, to make us forget the world’s harshness, and to lift us out of the disillusionment of modernity and boredom. The garden of golden flowers is in-between dream and reality, offering a moment of re-enchantment. The Flowers of Hypnosis carry within them the spell of the imaginary.”