Now that quoting and combining styles appears to have become an end in itself, it is refreshing to find an artist who refers to tradition in art with a clear purpose. In his still lifes of flowers, Ger van Elk does more than give an up-to-date interpretation of art history’s bygone subjects and styles; he questions our attitudes to such genres and at the same time makes a distinction between “decorative” (for which read “meaningless”) and “expressive” (read “meaningful”) forms of art.

It seems ages since painting flowers was considered a worthwhile occupation. Perhaps the most recent examples in