Over the past four years, Lucas 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 'Constant Bloom' received a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship and will be on view at Galerie Caroline O'Breen in May-June 2025.
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 whenand 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 presentation coincides withLucas Foglia’s solo exhibition at Fotomuseum Den Haag, opening on 17 May, 2025. The museum solo is on view in The Hague until 28 September, 2025.
Curator of Fotomuseum Den Haag Willemijn van der Zwaan writes, “Constant Bloom initially seems straightforward—a documentation of butterfly migration — but soon reveals itself as a profound reflection on interconnectedness, displacement, and adaptation.”
The book 'Constant Bloom' is released inspring 2025 — this is Lucas Foglia’s fifth monograph with Nazraeli Press.
'Constant Bloom' launches just as Painted Lady butterflies arrive in Europe from across the Mediterranean Sea.
Lucas Foglia 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.