A new month means a new show at the gallery, and it is with great excitement that we're having our first annual invitational still life group show. My main objective in seeking new artists was to find "experts" who have a well-defined style, a high level of consistency, and a passion for painting objects. Ultimately the show confirms that contemporary still life artists continue to push boundaries through style, content, and technique, as they build upon an age-old tradition.
Here is a list of the accomplished painters featured this month:
So why collect still lifes? What's the big hoopla around them?
When I referred to the act of still life painting as an "age-old tradition" above, I wasn't kidding - painting realistic scenes of objects has persisted through out western art history. Trompe L'oeil still lifes are most often associated with the Flemish, as their realistically painted fruits and flowers for example, looked luscious enough to touch (Willem Kalf is a favorite). When considering the French, on the other hand, one might first think of the master still life painter Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, who was famous for his genre paintings. Cezanne, of course, was also French but he took on a very different vision from his predecessors as he explored post-impressionism through fragmented brush strokes, incongruous compositions, and vivid color. The Italian painter Morandi made tonal explorations through his still lifes as they often approached abstraction through a sense of "flatness" achieved through a simple design aesthetic.
I've only mentioned a few, but it's easy to see that still life artists have faced varying challenges and objectives over time, which leads us to wonder what's going on now?
Here are a few paintings (amongst many) in this month's show which will answer that question:
Aside from the fact that this piece is tremendously well done, the story behind it is equally compelling. Alvin gave me a little insight into the subject and here's what he wrote, "The title is a play on words. The vase is by Robert Held, a California born artist living in Vancouver Canada. While doing the rounds of the art galleries (on Prince Edward Island), I discovered the magnificent art glass of this very prolific artist. The luminosity in the glass is incredible... I knew at that very moment that I wanted a piece for myself and that I would want to paint it. Driving home I was thinking of anchoring it on a Japanese woodblock print. After I read Mr. Held's biography stating his main's influences as being Louis C.Tiffany, Gustav Klimt, and Claude Monet I had the perfect pocket book of Claude Monet which I had been eager to use in a painting."
Daryl Gortner - Forever Lasting - Oil on canvas - 48" X 30"
Daryl's painting is graphic, bold, and eye-catching. Read what she has to say about the piece and how the subject of a lollipop found its way to her canvas. "The lollipop's swirls of bright colors instantly reminded me of my childhood as I recalled the excitement of picking one out, enjoying its sugary flavor, but never finishing it because it was so large. I've further accentuate the 'everlasting' quality of the lollipop by painting it from a child's vantage point, as if it appears larger than life"
Teresa N. Fischer - When Your Horse Comes In - Oil on linen - 24" X 18"
Teresa's painting is grounded in its pyramidal composition and her use of striking tonal variations, which carefully describe each of the horse figurines. Notice the varying textures - the wood, the shiny plastic, and even the thread looped around the label - as they are all individually differentiated. The contrasting black background complements the piece nicely and further emphasizes the three-dimensionality of Teresa's subject.
James Neil Hollingsworth - Dumbo - Oil on hardboard panel - 24" X 24"
Neil's painting of Dumbo exhibits a thorough understanding of light. Dumbo's plastic surface is almost sumptuous with its tonal variations and impressive reflections. While the picture of this painting is fantastic, you have to see the piece in person to really appreciate the talent of this incredible painter.
Christopher Stott - Type B & Type A - Oil on canvas - 20" X 40"
Whether it's the subtle whimsy pervading his subjects, or the intricacy of detail, Chris' paintings are consistently magnetic. While books may seem commonplace or banal, they are treated with grandiosity through his attention to detail and thoughtful compositions. Here's a little insight into what Chris was thinking when he painted this: "I was having a conversation with Cynthia, an art consultant at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, about one of my paintings. Apparently someone was looking at one of my unruly stacks of books and said they'd constantly be compelled to organize the books, straighten them out and make a tidy pile. I like hearing about how different people interpret my paintings. And the idea occurred to me then to honor different personality types and how they relate to each other and can be integrated in to the same relationship, or paintings, in this case."
To see the rest of the show, please follow the link to our website below:
The show will be on display from October 2 - November 4, 2010 with our Second Saturday opening on October 9th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.
Hope to see you there!- Michelle
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