Dreaming of springtime Paris
“The sun just touched the morning; the morning, happy thing, supposed that he had come to dwell, and life would be all spring.”
—EMILY DICKINSON
“Spring is nature’s way of saying ‘Let’s Party!’.”
—ROBIN WILLIAMS
“A life without love is like a year without spring.”
—OCTAVIAN PALEƔ
BETWEEN the joyful line of the American poet apparently related to Taylor Swift, the succinct translation of the celebrated comedian, and the somber simile of the Romanian writer, spring has always been much romanticized. After all, the metaphor almost writes itself, perhaps even more so in the French capital of Paris, hailed as the “City of Love.”
Visual artist Ronnie Lim invites the audience to that specific season and setting in his blooming new one-man exhibition, titled Je Pense À Paris. Translating to “I’m thinking of going to Paris,” the ongoing show serves as Lim’s debut solo with Galerie Francesca Megamall, and will be on view until April 19.
Lim has dabbled in both figurative art and abstraction. While the former doctor/businessman broke through the art scene with his works in realism, particularly his hyperrealist renditions of tigers, boxers and other subjects, the new show features mostly his abstract prowess, coupled with figurative elements.
In this springtime Parisian showcase, the signature flowers of Lim the abstractionist blossom in their nebulous glory, this time orbited by equally colorful birds. Of note as well are the titles of the pieces that drive the theme home. What is an art exhibition inspired by Paris without highlighting the elements of love and luxury?
In Seeking Louis Vuitton, a ruby-throated hummingbird interacts with three purple flowers. The same can be seen in Quest for Chanel, while Pursuing Goyard displays even more flora with two pairs.
Elsewhere we see more realist paintings, like the romantic interactions of more birds in Pour Toujours, where a couple shares a meal, and in L’amour, where the subjects lock gaze mid-flight. Then there’s a piece titled after the exhibition, Je Pense à Paris, showing a woman in an angled pose in the foreground of Lim’s petals.
Like spring the season and Paris the place, both ideas come alive with the elements that we attribute to it, especially in this showcase. With vibrant flowers, Lim puts the audience under a spell to romanticize springtime in Paris even more.