I created this series of paintings during a residency at Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in the Hudson Valley of New York. Hortus has an incredible collection of edible fruits and nuts from all over the world, many of which I picked directly off the plant and tasted right there in the garden. The flavors—maypop, medlar, himalayan chocolate berry—were all new to me.

 

It got me thinking: how many flavors are out there that I’ve never experienced? And what tiny percentage of all the world’s flavors can be found in an American grocery store? This series is my nod to the Hudson Valley’s history of settlement by the Dutch, the original masters of still life. It is also a loving depiction of Hortus Gardens’ beautiful fruit, with the cheeky inclusion of close-but-not-close-at-all flavors in familiar shapes, like Jell-o vanilla pudding and GoGoSqueez applesauce.​