Waterflowers

William Baziotes was interested in incorporating ideas of fantasy, the subconscious and mystery into his works. The artist once stated, "It is the mysterious I love in painting. It is the stillness and the silence. I want my pictures to take effect slowly, to obsess and to haunt."

Waterflowers reveals Baziotes’ interest in ancient Greek mythology, in particular tales of forest and water nymphs, in which plant, animal and human life merge in unnatural but compelling unions. The imagery evokes a half human hybrid: the plant stem branches out to suggest shoulders and arms, the petals surround an emblematic eye. This mysterious image suggests a spiritual dimension to nature, visualizing a near human consciousness or sensory awareness as the forms, colors and textures stir and unfold in layers.