Cari Gonzalez-Casanova - Isles of Dalia - Exhibitionmfc-michèle didier | Paris - Brussels - PARIS
Dalia
Dalia is a feminine name. It is used in Arabic, Hebrew, Lithuanian and Persian.
The name means «branch,» «flower,» «gentle,» «branch,» or «bough of a tree». This meaning is shared in both Hebrew and Arabic. There are several biblical and Talmudic references. It has a significant presence in religious and biblical contexts.
However, confusion arose among Hebrew speakers Dalia is not a similar meaning with the name of the flower Dahlia, named in honor of Anders Dahl, a Swedish botanist, by Spanish naturalist Antonio José de Cavanilles, director of the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid of 18th century.
Dahlia is a native flower of Mexico and the national flower of the country. However, in Mexico, it is spelled as «Dalia» another derivative of its official name which is commonly used and popular in Spanish speaking countries.
Dalia is a popular feminine name in Lithuania, meaning ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ and derived from Lithuanian pagan traditions. It is the name of the ancient Lithuanian goddess of destiny.
Its name is also used to mean “a large branch.”
The series of works titled Isles of Dalia questions our growing fascination with houseplants and the art of floral arrangement.
Bringing together works that question our relationship to flowers and nature, the exhibition will explore the processes of transcription, translation, and representation of the floral motif.
These works occupy the poetic and non-lexical space between an object or concept and its transformation into another comprehensible and relevant form.
Could this fascination be nurtured by our attraction to living beings that remain indifferent to the facts and certain values that structure our society, such as economic growth, productivity, social hierarchy, territoriality, and the valuing and the acceleration of time?
Through a series of blind contour drawings of flowers and the use of border tracing recognition software, the supposed neutrality of the gaze will transform the delineation of the flowers into as many island contours, coastlines, and threshold mapping.
Following the current rules of heraldic grammar, a bouquet of flowers designed for the exhibition will be transformed into a coat of arms. The latter will not fail to remind us of the use of the floral motif in heraldry and vexillology to designate the properties of a territory.
Isles of Dalia invites the viewer to reflect on how these forms echo ideas of romanticism—from the sublime nature to the noble savage—and will allow Asteraceae (dahlia) or other species to embody the personal and the universal.
The preview will take place on Saturday, January 10, 2026 from 4 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition will run from January 15 to March 21, 2026.
The gallery is open only by appointment from Thursday to Saturday, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Dalia
Dalia is a feminine name. It is used in Arabic, Hebrew, Lithuanian and Persian.
The name means «branch,» «flower,» «gentle,» «branch,» or «bough of a tree». This meaning is shared in both Hebrew and Arabic. There are several biblical and Talmudic references. It has a significant presence in religious and biblical contexts.
However, confusion arose among Hebrew speakers Dalia is not a similar meaning with the name of the flower Dahlia, named in honor of Anders Dahl, a Swedish botanist, by Spanish naturalist Antonio José de Cavanilles, director of the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid of 18th century.
Dahlia is a native flower of Mexico and the national flower of the country. However, in Mexico, it is spelled as «Dalia» another derivative of its official name which is commonly used and popular in Spanish speaking countries.
Dalia is a popular feminine name in Lithuania, meaning ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ and derived from Lithuanian pagan traditions. It is the name of the ancient Lithuanian goddess of destiny.
Its name is also used to mean “a large branch.”
The series of works titled Isles of Dalia questions our growing fascination with houseplants and the art of floral arrangement.
Bringing together works that question our relationship to flowers and nature, the exhibition will explore the processes of transcription, translation, and representation of the floral motif.
These works occupy the poetic and non-lexical space between an object or concept and its transformation into another comprehensible and relevant form.
Could this fascination be nurtured by our attraction to living beings that remain indifferent to the facts and certain values that structure our society, such as economic growth, productivity, social hierarchy, territoriality, and the valuing and the acceleration of time?
Through a series of blind contour drawings of flowers and the use of border tracing recognition software, the supposed neutrality of the gaze will transform the delineation of the flowers into as many island contours, coastlines, and threshold mapping.
Following the current rules of heraldic grammar, a bouquet of flowers designed for the exhibition will be transformed into a coat of arms. The latter will not fail to remind us of the use of the floral motif in heraldry and vexillology to designate the properties of a territory.
Isles of Dalia invites the viewer to reflect on how these forms echo ideas of romanticism—from the sublime nature to the noble savage—and will allow Asteraceae (dahlia) or other species to embody the personal and the universal.
The preview will take place on Saturday, January 10, 2026 from 4 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition will run from January 15 to March 21, 2026.
The gallery is open only by appointment from Thursday to Saturday, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm