A new exhibition exploring the art of bonsai by Jonathan Cross and Ryan Neil opens at Casa Perfect in Beverly Hills.
The art of bonsai – literally, ‘tray planting’ – goes back thousands of years. Originating in China, becoming tradition in Japan, it only achieved worldwide recognition in the last few decades. The dwarfed, meticulously cared-for trees must be trimmed, styled, and repotted, though custom calls for masking the artist’s hand. It’s a process that, as the name suggests, depends heavily on the vessel.
As its newest tenant, Casa Perfect, the home-as-showroom LA offshoot of the Future Perfect, invited ceramicist Jonathan Cross and Bonsai Mirai’s Ryan Neil to unveil a collaboration of ceramic and living sculpture. Casa’s latest location, a former home of Elvis Presley with panoramic views, combines the residential and the worldly, offering an ideal environment for the paradoxes of bonsai itself.
