“A rose must remain with the sun and the rain or its lovely promise won't come true. “ - Ray Evans

My Valentine’s Day post inspired me to share a little more of the art of Daniel Ost with you.

When I first saw images of his work, I had a shock really… that this work by Daniel Ost was new, that this was artistry translated into a whole new idiom. Frankly… the man just used some earth and some grass, or simply paved a wall with flowers and yet the result was intensely surprising. While his intention in the wavy earth forms was sort of event decoration, I translated it by envisioning a rolling English estate transliterated into a contemporary form of the traditional landscape. Sort of Capability Brown channeled through Armani.

Discovering a few examples in some English magazines, I began researching his work. Each image, whether a flower arrangement, party setting, plants in a garden… seemed lucid, fresh, the opposite of what would be expected normally.

I’m fascinated by Ost’s modern floral and landscape design. His work is absolutely amazing; beautiful, like an abstract painting.

For a private party at Vaux-le-Vicomte, he decorated a fountain with fresh rose petals, in a fantastic design (reminiscent of a Moorish window).

For the Dries Van Noten Spring 2007 runway show, he created a simple wall absolutely pavéd with blossoms.

In 2008 the New York Times Magazine featured an landscape installation by Ost of a property in Belgium with an undulating green lawn punctuated with a sphere covered in roses. Wonderful, contemporary simplicity offset against the building’s traditional brick façade.

So discovering this man affected me powerfully. I have always thought that good design, transcendent design, has new eyes, a fresh viewpoint. For example, reviving mid-twentieth century design is fun, and there are some great looks… but a revival is never as powerful as something new. Since there is nothing new (just ask the Greek philosophers), then novelty must result from seeing things in a fresh way. In a period room, even a modern period room, there has to be some counterpoint… a touch of whimsy or dissonance that balances the formulaic elements of a single style.

There are several gifted landscapers working in a very contemporary mode now… for some reason I am drawn their work because landscaping seems so mysterious to me. It requires years to mature and intense knowledge and vision… and creating new looks really can be powerful, from the surprise if nothing else. Ost, while not primarily a landscape designer, achieves a similar impact in his work, albeit more transitory.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh the things you can think if only you try!”-Dr. Seuss

Comments

August 25, 2011 - 09:50 AM Anonymous

What i discover difficult is to find a blog that can seize me for a minute however your weblog is different. Bravo.

Sherry's Blog

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
- Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina

- Follow Us on Facebook

DESIGN DIALOG

click on the image below
to read past
Design Dialog
posts

Join us for a dialogue between
designer (mother)
and
client (daughter)
as they plan and implement
the remodel of a bedroom
into a thoughtfully appointed
dressing room

STYLE SCOUTS
click on the images below
to read past Style Scout posts