Table Tops

Henri Burkhard

Like so many American artists at the turn of the century, Henri Burkhrad had to leave his native land for Paris in order to find his painterly voice. Paris was the centre of the avant-garde, a melting pot of radical ideas, experimentation, and wild characters who encouraged each other to push the envelope further in a single minded journey towards subjective truth. Burkhard had a by-the-numbers artistic education, attending three of the great Académies in the city and honing the traditional skills he had learnt as a young man in New York to novel effect. He returned home shortly before this work was painted, bringing with him the new way of thinking he had learnt overseas, and was quickly celebrated as a leading figure in the American modernist movement, exhibiting extensively at major galleries and museums across the country. Burkhard fell into relative obscurity later in life, and his contribution to a uniquely American painterly style is rarely discussed, but his cubist inspired still lives still retain a sense of potency today.

Sunday 7th June

The Moon rises in Aquarius, bringing a lighter, more airy quality into the garden. After the deep earthiness of Capricorn, Aquarius opens the day towards the flower realm, inviting our attention to blossoms, colour, scent, and the more delicate expressions of plant life. In biodynamics, Aquarius is connected with the element of air and light, and therefore with flower plants. This can make it a favourable day for tending flowers, herbs grown for their blossoms, and flowering crops in the garden. However, early in the morning there is a lunar node, and in biodynamic practice this is generally considered an unfavourable time for gardening. Once this period has passed, the day opens again to the airy, flowering influence of Aquarius.