Passion Flower: Paintings by Alexandru Chelaru

The exhibition, which is inspired by passion flowers, includes an assortment of paintings capturing the different varieties of the flower itself, and paintings illustrating moments of early life of Jesus Christ.

Alexandru says: "We all love flowers. They bring a sense of grace and beauty into our lives and are a source of spontaneous joy and pleasure.

"Early Spanish missionaries to South America named the passion flower. They likened the blooms to the Passion of Christ; using their imagination and the curious structure of the flower to represent different elements of the story. For example the 10 petals and sepals represented the 10 apostles, excluding Judas and Peter who betrayed the Lord."

Although there are more than 400 varieties of passion flowers, this exhibition focuses on the detail of just four: passiflora quadrangularis, passiflora coccinea, passiflora caerulea, and passiflora foetida.

Naming the exhibition Passion Flower, Alexandru believes that the true passion comes from within, which he hopes is reflected in his work.

The exhibition will be showing in the Brew House until 12 November 2011. Guildford House Gallery is open Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10am - 4.45pm. Free admission.