5-50 Gallery is thrilled to present Orchid Fever, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Hayley Youngs exploring the strange and divine realm of nature. Orchid Fever will run from June 14 – July 20, 2025, with an opening reception on Saturday, June 14th, from 4:00 – 7:00 PM.
In Orchid Fever, Youngs introduces new paintings that transform the physical forms of their floral subject matter into emotionally lush spaces that are psychedelic and transcendent. Because flowers have a rich symbolic history in art and culture at-large, it’s tempting to describe Youngs’ work in equally symbolic language. But Youngs’ orchids are more mystical spaces than flowers as we know them. Youngs eschews botanical representations of orchids, altering their forms in order to accentuate their hypnotic patterns, movement and colors. Untethered from human meaning, the otherworldly beings in Youngs’ abstracted paintings are portals into nature’s surreal, immeasurable presence.
“Orchids in particular captivate me; they feel like beings from another realm, strange and divine. Through abstraction and psychedelic color, I try to capture not just how they look, but how they feel—transcendent, alive, and emotionally charged.” – Hayley Youngs
Like the dreamy plunge of Alice in Wonderland, which partly inspires her practice, Youngs’ work unfurls a magical and immersive escape from the world as we see it for the world as we can imagine it. These paintings are portals into dreams, but they are also—does one daresay?—simply beautiful and fun and playful. Full stop.
