Best Photos of the Day

Lenox, MA —Sohn Fine Art is presenting Sanctuary of Petals, a group exhibition that explores the enduring allure of the natural world through four artists’ visions: Valda Bailey, Edward Merritt, JP Terlizzi, and Hans Withoos. The exhibition invites visitors into a richly imagined botanical sanctuary where flowers communicate through symbols of transformation, memory, and wonder.

Valda Bailey lives in Sussex, England. She took up photography at the age of 14 but her first creative passion was painting, and she remains strongly influenced by this medium. In this image: Valda Bailey, Confetti ii, 40” x 60” Photograph. Archival Pigment Print.

JP Terlizzi is a New York City photographer whose images are heavily influenced around the notion of home, legacy, and family. He is curious how the past relates and intersects with the present and how the present enlivens the past, shaping one’s identity. In this image: JP Terlizzi, Montezuma Quail with Grapes Nesting, 2025. 22.5” x 42” Photograph. Archival Pigment Print.

Edward Merritt transforms botanical forms through innovative mixed-media techniques that merge materials recycled from urban environments with tactile surfaces and experimental processes. In this image: Edward Merritt, Paper Pieces. Acrylic building paint, found graffiti en verso on handmade paper with deckled edges, Unique, Signed. Framed 22.75” x 18.75”.

For centuries, flowers have served as visual metaphors, carrying meanings that transcend words. They have served as symbols of love, remembrance, hope, and renewal.

Terlizzi’s practice transforms botanical imagery into compelling visual narratives that celebrate both fragility and resilience. Through his evocative use of composition and symbolism, Terlizzi captures not only the physical essence of objects but also their emotional and cultural significance, creating images that resonate with personal histories and collective memories. In this image: JP Terlizzi, European Roller with Bananas Nesting, 2025. 22.5” x 42” Photograp. Archival Pigment Print.

The featured artists work with mixed media, photography, and unconventional artistic processes. While each artist approaches the floral subject from a unique perspective, together they create an immersive dialogue that celebrates both the beauty and complexity of nature.

Bailey’s expressionistic photographic works dissolve the boundaries between realism and abstraction, layering movement, texture, and light into painterly compositions that evoke emotion rather than documentation. In this image: Valda Bailey, April Showers, 19.5” x 34.75” Photograph. Archival Pigment Print, Signed.

Merritt’s creations are carefully constructed narratives about the human condition, introspection, interpersonal relationships, social politics, unexpected beauty and love. In this image: Edward Merritt, Night Garden, 2024. 34” x 34” Recycled Building Paint, Recycled Concrete Board, Recycled Discarded House Paint, Graffiti En Verso, Recycled Found Spray, Peeled Road Curb Paint. Unique, Signed.

While Sanctuary of Petals draws inspiration from this rich tradition, the artists reinterpret it with a contemporary lens, transforming botanical subjects into expressive works that blur the boundaries between observation and invention.