Elder Flowers, by artist j. maya luz, presents striking color prints of flowers captured past their “prime.” Using the natural process of decomposition, these intricate images invite reflection on maturation, wisdom, and mortality. Beautiful and contemplative, they echo the elegance of 19th- and 20th-century master photographs while remaining distinctly contemporary in style and technique.

One featured work, Tulip, portrays a flower stripped of most of its petals. Yet, in this transformation, the remaining petals take on intensified color, inviting viewers to expand their notion of beauty and consider how strength and character emerge through change and loss.

j. maya luz, artist-in-residence at El Taller Latino Americano, has photographed many of the notable musicians and artists who have performed and exhibited there. Her work has been shown in New York and abroad. In 2005, her series Dar a Luz / Bring to Light was selected to represent the Pan American Health Organization’s campaign Make Every Mother and Child Count. Her 2018 book God Space documents churches in Mexico. In 2021, she received a grant to create a large-scale installation in Anibal Aviles Playground, Good Neighbors, honoring Corp. Aviles and the Manhattan Valley community.