Lucas Foglia: Constant Bloom

Fredericks & Freiser is pleased to present Constant Bloom, the first U.S. exhibition of Lucas Foglia’s new photographic series. Over the past four years, Foglia followed Painted Lady butterflies on the recently discovered longest butterfly migration, turning it into a powerful metaphor for connection across international borders. The project received a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship.

For millions of years, Painted Lady butterflies have migrated between Africa, the Middle East, and Europe in search of blooming wildflowers. As climate change shifts when and where wildflowers bloom, these resilient butterflies increasingly rely on human-planted parks, farms, and gardens to survive. Constant Bloom weaves together the story of this delicate yet determined species with that of people. It draws poignant parallels between Painted Lady butterflies and refugees who follow similar routes in search of safety and sustenance. The series offers a message of hope and resilience in the face of environmental and geopolitical uncertainty.

This gallery exhibition coincides with the release of a book from Nazraeli Press and a solo museum exhibition at Fotomuseum Den Haag. Curator Willemijn van der Zwaan writes, “Constant Bloom initially seems straightforward—a documentation of a butterfly migration—but soon reveals itself as a profound reflection on interconnectedness, displacement, and adaptation.”

The exhibition opens as American Painted Lady butterflies arrive from across the Mexico–United States border.

Lucas Foglia (b. 1983) makes photographic prints that are collected and exhibited internationally at institutions including International Center of Photography, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Victoria & Albert Museum. This is Lucas Foglia’s third exhibition at Fredericks & Freiser.