Lotus

Elizabeth Knowles and Eric Laxman collaborative sculpture entitled  Lotus was created for an outdoor exhibition entitled “Back To The Garden” curated by The Sculptors Guild and The New York City Parks Department for the Allen Street Mall on the Lower East Side of New York, New York for Summer 2022 to welcome back new life and culture to the city after 2 years of Covid 19 isolation and devastation.

Consisting of 18 colorful lotus petals unfolding and rising from a steel stem-like armature, Lotus enlivens the urban streetscape with an explosion of movement and color as it contrasts in juxtaposition to the 5 other sculptures.  Improvising upon the purifying growth cycle of the lotus flower, Lotus plays upon the qualities of the actual blossom in nature.  Extending back for 145.5 million years, the lotus can withstand climatic extremes and is one of the few flowers to survive the Ice Age.  Historically, the purifying growth cycle of the lotus flower emerging from muddy waters each morning in full bloom has come to symbolize our daily sequence of life, death, and rebirth both physically and spiritually.  Fabricated from welded stainless steel and woven wire mesh and durable in all types of weather, the sculpture echoes the enduring and sustainable qualities of the lotus itself.

With its vibrant petals gracefully unfurling in a celebratory embrace of renewal and regeneration, Lotus reenergizes the Allen Street Mall.    Because the work is exhibited outside, Lotus can always be enjoyed freely by residents, workers, and visitors on the Lower east Side