Halim Flowers is an artist based out of Washington, D.C. who served over twenty years in prison after being convicted of felony murder as a juvenile. After his release, he picked up painting and has shown work at galleries and exhibitions around the world. I met Halim at an event at Lewis & Clark College honoring civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Crump and Flowers had worked together on issues related to mass incarceration and criminal justice reform, and Flowers presented Crump with an original painting that blew me away with its power and impact. I immediately went up to Flowers and asked if he had any prints for sale, and in many ways this meeting is what kicked off my interest in collecting art.
“Audacity to Love (IP) (Blue)”
30″ h x 22″ w, silkscreen on BFK Rives warm white paper (signed, numbered 3/10) (2023)
This silkscreen print is an adaptation of Flowers’ “Audacity to Love”. Made in the midst of the Israel/Gaza war following October 7, the colors are meant to evoke the flags of both Israel (blue and white) and Palestine (red, white, and green), “promoting love between both flags and people.” As much as I admire its beauty–the soft yet strong blue bringing out the surrounding colors, the clasping heart simultaneously embracing yet in tension–the message is even more moving. The point of this image, as I see it, is not to deny the existence of well-earned fear, mistrust, or even animus. Rather, it is to accept the reality of those sentiments and nonetheless promote the choice to reach out in love anyway–an audacious choice, but a necessary one.
“Love is the Mitzvot”
40″ h x 30″ w, acrylic on canvas (signed, unique) (2024)
“Love is the Professor”
24″ h x 30″ w, acrylic on canvas (signed, unique) (2024)
When my wife and I learned we would be expecting our first child, we decided that an exciting milestone (not to mention, the last time we’d get to spend money on ourselves!) should be commemorated by one of our favorite artists. We reached out to Halim to commission a painting centered around the theme of Mitzvot, and he was generous to do a second for us as a gift for the baby. We’ve never commissioned art before, and it many ways it was a harrowing experience (Halim quite wisely limited our input to theme and some very broad suggestions surrounding color), but we could not be more thrilled with the results.
Both paintings are parts of his “Love is …” series, a powerful body of work which we are proud to be included in. Each are exemplary representations of Halim’s distinctive “optical improvisation” style, which reflects the influence of street art and graffiti but retains a decisively and unapologetically hopeful tone. Flowers’ work is often compared to Basquiat, but he has said that he views George Condo as a more direct inspiration, and I think that connection is evident in both of these paintings. It was particularly flattering to hear him tell us that the second piece (“Love is the Professor”) was one of his favorite creations of the year!
“Love is the Greatest (Blue)”
26″ h x 26″ w, digital print (signed, numbered 2/5)
My favorite sport to watch is boxing, and I own a small collection of boxing memorabilia (highlights include gloves signed by Mike Tyson, whom I met in Vegas, and trunks signed by Riddick Bowe). Boxing has always punched above its weight (heh) in the fine art world, and I already acquired one Muhammad Ali themed print (Robert Mars’ “Be Killer”) before I saw Flowers release this work.
“Love is the Greatest” is actually four different editions of five, all in different colors (blue, yellow, orange, and pink), modeled off the work of Andy Warhol. I chose blue in part because it went best with “Audacity to Love”, and in part because the green highlights gave off an especially appealing electric vibe (almost reminiscent of “The Matrix”).
It took longer than usual for this piece to get from the studio to my wall (I called it “cursed”; the artist corrected me to say it merely took a “unique journey”), but it was well worth the wait!
David Schraub 