Mario Gaitan and Keith Burnham, co-owners of Westbank Flower Market, are passionate about flowers - "to the point of obsession," says Keith. They cultivate orchids in their own greenhouse with Nepenthes and Cattleyas varieties being Keith's pride and joy. "Since only rainwater will do for them," notes Mario, "you can imagine the problems in our current drought." With an eye for the unusual, the partners work side-by-side in their shop on Bee Caves Road. The space is filled with exotic plants and stylized containers; flowers from around the world stand alongside locally grown organics from the Texas Hill Country. Texture and form are central to the team's design approach; surfaces complement the natural elements and lines move seamlessly from container to flowers completing what is always an artful composition. For IN BLOOM, that same soft, linear flow will parallel Tony Saladino's abstract landscapes as their installation stretches through the gallery entry way.

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