A journey by Candice Xiang, Art Curator of Scented Pages Workshop
In every hue that dances on a canvas, in every stroke drawn by longing or rebellion, there lives a hidden aroma—a quiet scent echoing between the pigments, waiting to be translated into breath. At Scented Pages Workshop, we do not merely admire art; we inhale it, decode it, and let it bloom once more on skin and soul.
As the Art Curator of this multisensory atelier, I have spent long hours in still rooms, reading paintings like poems and oils like memories. Here, I invite you to walk with me into six iconic artworks from the 19th to the 21st century—each reimagined as a natural perfume, blended only with pure essential oils and the pulse of emotion. These are not fragrances in bottles; they are distillations of silence, fury, wonder, and presence.
Let us begin.
1. “Still Flame” — Inspired by Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) by Mark Rothko
A quiet incandescence suspended in emotion
Rothko did not paint shapes; he painted moods—vast, hovering, soul-filling. “Still Flame” is our olfactory response to his fiery abstraction, where color becomes feeling and stillness burns.
The top notes flicker gently—bergamot, neroli, sweet orange—like light first breaking into the void. Then a strange serenity settles in: heirloom rose and rosemary mingle with osmanthus and champa, drawing you deeper into a meditation of color as warmth.
The base anchors you with grace: vanilla, vetiver, benzoin, and sandalwood—earthy, sacred, and solemn. This is the scent of standing before something vast and saying nothing, because it says everything.
2. “Starry Night” — Inspired by The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh
A swirling breath of madness and wonder
There is a sky that spins when no one is watching—a sky that Van Gogh painted from his inner storms. “Starry Night” captures not stars, but their dizziness, their pulse, their insomnia.
The fragrance begins with an electric inhale: peppermint, fragonia, bergamot—cool and starstruck. The heart spirals with kinetic greens: lemongrass, eucalyptus, blue lotus, ylang ylang, and geranium. These are scents that do not rest, but spiral.
The base, finally, is a ground Van Gogh barely touched: spikenard, fir, cypress, and benzoin—the forest floor of a dreamer who never slept. It is the scent of starlight seared into skin.
3. “X” — Inspired by Untitled (Skull) (1982) by Jean-Michel Basquiat
Raw brilliance in fragments and bones
Basquiat didn’t soften the world—he cracked it open with color and let it bleed symbols. “X” is our response to that unfiltered brilliance: chaotic, intelligent, pulsing.
We begin with urban flash: petitgrain, litsea, lemongrass, lime—a citrus scream, neon on concrete. Then comes the hum of power: ylang ylang, eucalyptus, bergamot, clary sage, and a bruised rose—notes that challenge and provoke.
The base walks the line between life and myth: patchouli, myrrh, frankincense, benzoin— resins of ritual and resistance. “X” is the smell of genius before the system names it. And after.
4. “Lost” — Inspired by Girl with Balloon (2002) by Banksy
Innocence released, and what lingers after
She reaches. She lets go. A balloon becomes a metaphor too fragile for language. Banksy’s most tender work, “Girl with Balloon,” is our point of departure for “Lost”—a scent of hope, rupture, and memory.
Top notes lift like the balloon itself: peppermint, petitgrain, orange bitter—bittersweet and weightless. The heart holds grief gently: gardenia, clary sage, lavender, lemongrass, and rosemary—florals laced with longing and resolve.
The base is duskier: cypress, frankincense, black pepper, cedarwood, and guaiacwood— smoky echoes of what was once held and is now air. “Lost” is the scent of goodbyes that make you stronger.
5. “Gazes” — Inspired by The Artist is Present (2010) by Marina Abramović
The scent of presence: still, wild, eternal
To sit across from Marina Abramović in silence is to face yourself. “Gazes” is born of this ritual of endurance and attention—a scent of confrontation, intimacy, and profound stillness.
The top notes approach like a slow gaze: neroli, fragonia, lemongrass—sharp yet gentle. The heart beats slow and deep: lavender, rose, eucalyptus, marjoram, blue lotus—each drop a witness to time, to breath, to self.
The base is sacred: sandalwood, frankincense, benzoin, cedarwood—the scent of sacred performance, of human divinity held still. “Gazes” lingers like eye contact in eternity.
6. “Dots Bloom” — Inspired by Pumpkin Series (1965– ) by Yayoi Kusama
Playful repetition, eternal return
Kusama lives in the infinite. Her pumpkins are not vegetables; they are portals—into obsession, joy, repetition, healing. “Dots Bloom” is our tribute to her cosmic dots and fearless color.
The opening sparkles with citrus joy: bergamot, sweet orange, grapefruit—fruity and fearless. The heart spirals: lemongrass, lavender, clary sage, ylang ylang, marjoram—a carousel of scents, spinning with purpose.
The base is soft but grounded: guaiacwood, cypress, black pepper, sandalwood—earth anchoring the playfulness above. “Dots Bloom” is a dotted dance—one dot at a time toward infinity.
Epilogue: The Scented Gaze
In our world today, images move too fast. We swipe, scroll, click. But scent—scent makes us pause. It roots us in the invisible present. That’s why, at Scented Pages Workshop, we believe in reading art not just with our eyes, but with our noses and hearts.
As curator, I have seen students and artists smell Rothko’s silence, Van Gogh’s vertigo, Basquiat’s scream, Banksy’s ache, Abramović’s gaze, Kusama’s spiral—and be changed.
Each perfume is a conversation. Each drop a dialogue with time, with emotion, with meaning. This is not perfumery. This is sensory literature.
Let your skin become the page. Let art be something you remember not only in your mind, but in your scent trail.
Candice Xiang
Art Curator, Scented Pages Workshop
