Caris Reid, The Seeker, 2024; Original Painting

**These original works are available via private sale only. Please email hello@artforchange.com with your interest.

Caris Reid is a painter whose works depict an ethereal, symbolic world of blooming flowers, rhythmic plants, and hypnotic stars. Influenced by her interest in mysticism, the California landscape, queer ecology, and meditation, her practice taps into both the familiar and the mysterious. Each subject represents the nexus between the physical world and the spiritual world, while every detail is coded and ripe with meaning. Based in Los Angeles, the artist has presented solo exhibitions at Denny Dimin Gallery, New York, NY, and Ochi Projects, Los Angeles, CA. Additionally, her work has been included in group exhibitions at venues that include The Landing, Los Angeles, CA; Sargent’s Daughters, New York, NY; Longhouse Projects, New York, NY; SEASON, Seattle, WA; and The National Arts Club, New York, NY; among others.

Depicting various flora in nocturnal settings resplendent with twinkling stars, the trio of works selected by Reid each feature flourishing blooms. Intertwined (2023) centers on two nearly symmetrical flowers, with stems that arch towards the other; at the center of the pink petals are purple, vaginal-like portals, which lend a queer, sensual element to the encounter. Meanwhile, We Only Bloom at Night (2023) and The Seeker (2024) depict plants that extend towards a bright, full moon. Whereas the former reflects the ways in which communities and ecosystems harmonize while also competing for growth, the latter contemplates what it means to sustain a sense of wonder and to resist the gravitational pull that persistently draws our attention elsewhere.

Caris Reid
The Seeker, 2023
Acrylic on linen
48 x 40 inches

With environmental conservation a central tenet of ART FOR CHANGE’s mission, the artists invited for this exhibition confront and contribute to the move toward sustainability by exploring nature and the environment through content, methods, inspiration, or process. In conjunction with the exhibition, ART FOR CHANGE and Phillips will plant 1,000 trees to help counter the CO2 emissions produced by the art industry.

For this collaboration between Phillips and ART FOR CHANGE, Reid notes, “Nature has hugely inspired and influenced my work, since I moved from New York to California seven years ago. Sustainability and the environment are things that I constantly worry about. On a poetic and spiritual level, I find great solace from being in and observing nature. From weekly hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, to observing the nocturnal blooms of a neighboring cactus, to watching egrets build a nest above the LA river, my time in nature has a calming effect on my nervous system. It acts as a reminder of the ecosystem we as humans share with animals, and our responsibilities to protect and honor the earth.”