"Holy Contradictions" exhibition
EXHIBITION: Holy contradictions. Bromfield Gallery, Boston. April 1st - 26th, 2026
POEM: MOTHER
(by Fleur Thesmar)
Mother, what do you see in my
Cherry tree, full of wind?
You seek the spirit hovering
Over the ripples.
Despair and hope crossed long ago,
And love is enough.
Let’s shift our pixels,
Stroll from the forest to the meadow,
To horizons full of harvests,
Let’s join the choir and heroes,
Waltz and abandon our sorrows.
IMAGES
Framed Watercolors, 22x30 inches
"Holy Contradiction" is an exhibition with one poem "Mother, what do you see?",a photography, and ten watercolors (22x30 when unframed, 26x34 framed).
They explore the shifting relationship between thought, emotions, gestural painting and pictural form. In this series, Fleur Thesmar paints from a deliberately neutral inner state. Her gestures echo natural movements, while her thoughts are held together by repeated words and emotional refrains such as “Mother”, “Cherry tree, full of wind”, or “Love”. These anchors function as quiet rhythms shaping the work.
This body of work emerged in response to reactions to Thesmar’s earlier nature-inspired paintings, which viewers described as either “oppressive” or “liberating”. These opposing interpretations led her to question: if semi abstract landscapes created in a contemplative state can provoke such ambivalent responses, how powerful is the artist’s inner state in shaping what ultimately appears on the surface?
The full series culminated in a poem dedicated to Thesmar’s mother.
Through layered transparencies, the watercolors evoke the simultaneous images of our contemporary screens, where perception is blurred and ideas are constantly interwoven with visuals. By weaving nature and spirit, memory and perception, the work seeks to open a space of dialogue with the viewer. What do they see - and what do they project?
The photography is part of the “Penrose Project”, a body of work exhibited in Paris in 2024, which explores sacred geometry in nature. The golden ratio is a constant, intuitive presence within Thesmar’s spontaneous watercolors. This particular photo is an analogue photo made in the Harvard Arboretum with a digital drawing of a Penrose tiling.
The painted artworks are watercolors on paper, framed in professional frames with anti-UV, anti-glare glass.
