Phlox New Hybrid (with Dahlia Redskin)

Phlox New Hybrid (with Dahlia Redskin) is part of a set entitled Black-Eyed Susan I, produced in 2010. The French photographer drew her inspiration for this blue flower portrait from the feminine aesthetic of the 1950s.

This stereotype of beauty melts into the background of greenery that surrounds her. Valérie Belin works in two stages: she creates two different images, first the portrait of an elegant woman, then a bouquet of flowers that overlays the portrait. This overlapping creates a surprising image that evokes a sophisticated form of overprinting.

The photograph Phlox New Hybrid (with Dahlia Redskin) by Valérie Belin belongs to the Pinault Collection. It was first shown - alongside Calendula (Marigold), part of the same series - at the ‘The Language of Flowers’ exhibition in 2015, at the Gucci Museo in Florence.