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"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," as the famous poem goes. But what about when a rose isn't quite what it seems? The beautiful red roses at Cj Hendry's Flower Market don’t have any thorns or a scent—and they feel fuzzy rather than smooth.
These roses, along with peonies, sunflowers, lilies and more, are plush creations made by artist Cj Hendry as part of a dazzling floral exhibition on Roosevelt Island. You can visit this weekend (September 13-15, 10am-4pm) for free—and even take a complimentary plush flower home with you. Be sure to register in advance here.
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Contemporary artist Cj Hendry has transformed a massive white tent into a meadow complete with 100,000 flowers. Find it in Four Freedoms Park at the south end of the island. The installation is held in collaboration with beauty brand Clé de Peau Beauté; the plush flowers were inspired by the botanicals used in the brand's products, especially radiant lily in The Serum. Each complimentary flower comes with a bottle of Clé de Peau Beauté's The Serum.
Plush white lilies are on display, alongside a dozen original drawings Hendry created for this exhibition. Among the other flowers on display are a bouquet inspired by the Roosevelt family: the yellow Eleanor Roosevelt Rose, tulips for the Roosevelt family’s Dutch heritage, red roses symbolizing the “Roosevelt” name (field of roses), and peonies, the signature flower of the Roosevelt farm.
Wandering the flower field in the beautiful setting of the Four Freedoms Park feels magical—especially on a sunny day like we're expected to have all weekend. The flowers are so realistic, you have to touch them to know they're actually plush. In addition to selecting one free flower to take home, you can purchase additional flowers for $5/stem. We even spotted Martha Stewart at a preview event picking out a beautiful bouquet!
“When the architect Louis Kahn designed this memorial, he said, ‘The garden is somehow a personal kind of control of nature.’ A lot of my work, and in this exhibition especially, is about manipulating my environments and building a space that takes participants out of their ordinary. I hope Flower Market inspires joy and beauty well after the greenhouse is empty, every time we see flowers—plush or otherwise,” Hendry said in a press release.
As an artist, Hendry is known for inspiring joy and beauty, and she's graced New York City with her vision several times recently. Her Pink Chairs, a pair of concrete chairs popped up in Prospect Park earlier this year. And last year, her adult playground called PLAIDground delighted visitors in Brooklyn.
Now, all are invited to step into Hendry's colorful world to stop smell the roses—metaphorically, that is.