An explosion of life untamed by human hands.
Paula Brooks's paintings offer a lush, botanical journey into psychedelia. Flowers bloom out of faces as vines twist across the surface — the topsy-turvy compositions rewilding our view of the floral world. This is no cultivated garden but an explosion of life, a world where the boundaries between human and plant dissolve entirely.
Brooks works at The Living Museum at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens — one of the most celebrated progressive studios in the United States. Her large-scale canvases, some reaching 65 × 56 inches, command space with the confidence of a painter who has fully inhabited her own visual language.
People are Flowers brought Brooks's work to Open Studio following her inclusion in the Introducing Open Studio group show, where The Beast (2023) served as the largest and most commanding work in the exhibition. This solo show gave the full scope of her practice the institutional platform it deserves.
Installation views
Paula Brooks: People are Flowers · Open Studio · 127 Henry Street, New York · January 10 – February 28, 2026 · Photography available on request
Works in the exhibition
InquiryPress
"Paula Brooks's 'The Beast' (2023) is the largest work in the show and offers a lush, botanical journey into psychedelia... This is no cultivated garden but an explosion of life untamed by human hands."
About Paula Brooks
Paula Brooks works at The Living Museum at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, New York — one of the most celebrated progressive art studios in the United States. Her large-scale paintings are characterized by explosive botanical imagery, psychedelic color, and a compositional confidence that commands space.
Brooks was featured in the inaugural Introducing Open Studio group exhibition at FIERMAN in July 2025, where The Beast served as the exhibition's most commanding presence. People are Flowers marked her first solo show at Open Studio.
Collect this work.
Works from People are Flowers are available for acquisition. All sales support the artist directly. For pricing, availability, and condition reports, contact Open Studio.