Still life is one of the classic genres in fine art and often associated with imagery of fruit, wine, florals and vases arranged skillfully along a ledge of a table. In Gallery Hencoh’s Still Life 2021 this treasured genre is tipped on its axis through contemporary interpretations. There will be a mix of traditional and modern subjects, but all in innovative compositions that expand the possibilities of still life painting. The exhibition includes new work by Olga Antonova, Alexandra Averbach, Samuel Hung, Robert C. Jackson, Elizabeth McGhee, Kevin Palme, Janet Rickus and Steve Smulka.
Elizabeth McGhee, This Is How We Roll I, oil on panel, 9½ x 25¾"
This Is How We Roll I, by McGhee, is from a series of still life paintings inspired by the past year of the pandemic. The painting shows a rolling pin behind dice of all shapes, sizes and colors that are flipped to many different numbers. “Every day we must assess risks and take chances when we go out to do necessary things like shopping for groceries, going to work, walking the dog or helping a neighbor,” she says. “With each roll of the dice we take a chance—and it has been impossible to feel completely in control.”
Olga Antonova, Pears in a Metal Vase, oil on canvas, 32 x 28"
Antonova’s painting Pears in a Metal Vase depicts objects that are common in still lifes but elevated because of the composition and items she combined. “For me, good painting is a visual feast and a visual moment of meditative, arresting pleasure. I like to hope that someone also would enjoy what I saw in the combination of objects, colors and textures that made me want to put it on the canvas,” says the artist. “I came upon the metal vase, which is unusual, and wanted to make a piece with it. I thought it would make an unusual nest for the fruit, which has been usually used for still lifes through the ages.”
Alexandra Averbach, Duet, oil on canvas, 28 x 34"
Jackson paints within the representational tradition but enjoys looking at a wide variety of art and used an abstract design in his latest painting Now For Something Completely Different. “I suppose [being interested in a variety of art] is similar to how a classical musician could still enjoyAC/DC or bluegrass (although certainly not all of them would have this openness!),” Jackson says. “While working on a specific project I had an extra canvas to test out brushstrokes and ended up having fun with that canvas on its own and decided to turn it into Now For Something Completely Different. Here I have taken a balloon dog artist painted representationally and juxtaposed him against the background of his playful abstraction. A celebration of embracing the dichotomy.”
Robert C. Jackson, Now For Something Completely Different, oil on linen, 40 x 30"
In Duet, Averbach paints berries in glass bowls, showing them in all different lights and nuances. “I adore painting berries. Although small in size, each berry is complex, with its own bright and bold personality,” she says. “The bright background, reminiscent of the clear blue sky, is a perfect nod to the arrival of spring.”
Still Life 2021 will be on view through May 29 in New York City. —
Gallery Henoch
555 W. 25th Street • New York, NY 10001
(917) 305-0003 • www.galleryhenoch.com
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