Edwynn Houk Gallery presents "Super Modern Things," an exhibition of new works by Sebastiaan Bremer. The artworks blend photography and painting, starting from historical source images such as 17th-century Dutch botanical catalogues and Golden Age still life paintings. Bremer photographs these reproductions and adds ink and acrylic marks—dots, lines, stains, and washes—creating rhythms that evoke language, music, emotion, and constellations. The exhibition continues his long-standing exploration of flowers and the layered histories of still life, addressing themes of beauty, mortality, value, ecology, and global exchange. An accompanying monograph of his flower series is scheduled for Fall 2026.
This exhibition matters because it bridges historical Dutch still life traditions with contemporary concerns about value, power, and mortality. Bremer's work insists that questions the Dutch masters encoded in flowers centuries ago remain urgently relevant today, such as the true cost of beauty and what societies choose to preserve. By combining appropriation with deeply personal mark-making, Bremer creates a dialogue between art history and intimate diary, offering a nuanced commentary on ecology, global trade, and the human condition. The show also highlights the ongoing relevance of gallery exhibitions in fostering critical engagement with historical art forms through a contemporary lens.