Splendor in the arbor

JOHN FINCHER

JOHN FINCHER’S DIVERSE BODY of realist works display a fetishistic approach to representational imagery. His paintings of trees, for instance, show an intense focus on a single part, such as a branch or section of branches. Botanica ,a solo exhibit of Fincher’s floral paintings and other works, opens with a 5 p.m. reception on Friday, June 26, at LewAllen Galleries. The works in the show recall the illustrated depictions of flora by 18th-century naturalists but retain a more contemporary feel. Fincher’s use of alluring colors and color harmonies, combined with a graphic and bold use of line, result in compositions that seduce the eye. But they also deceive; placed within the paintings are representations of inanimate objects and other forms that shouldn’t belong there but appear as though they do. — M.A.