Nostalgia for a non-existent utopia

Feel of Water 🌊

Robert Capa

Refugee Girl

Currently on view at Haven Gallery in Northport, New York is artist Larysa Bernhardt's solo exhibition, "Hortus Conclusus."

"Hortus conclusus literally translates as an enclosed garden, but it’s much more than that. Sacred spot, a place reserved for initiated, separate from everyday reality, a garden of sublime delights, a retreat from cares - its a safe heaven for all who needs it. I envisioned modern day Arcadia, Garden of Eden, and although I populated it with mythological creatures and friendly, gentle animals it is still very much a human space, a quiet retreat for souls who need an escape from crushing world we forced to live in. It’s a place of gentle illusion and harmless humor, fireflies in warm summer evenings, dancing under the sheltering canopies of old trees with bare feet touching soft moss and hair touched by moonlight. Place where art of conversation wasn’t lost forever and reason still prevails over impulse.

Textiles I used for telling my story are results of years of passionate collecting. Some vintage and some antique, they come from many corners of the world to create a tale of Hortus conclusus, allegory for a world as it could be if our dreams would come true." - Larya Bernhardt.

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