SIMON WATKINS
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Still life, still

12/29/2017

3 Comments

 
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Historically, still life has occupied a pretty lowly position. It doesn’t aim to tell big complex human stories like a history painting, it doesn’t even show one human story like a portrait, nor the emotive space of a landscape. It shows a bunch of stuff essentially, the human element notable by its absence, though that is sometimes implied. It’s often part of an artist’s training, and so seen as elementary, simple, basic. All that is generally true and yet I find myself drawn to it. 


The humility of the genre is precisely why I like it. The drama of a history painting, for all its sophistication, is removed from our daily lived experience. In many ways that is the point of it. Currently I am much more interested in pictures which find meaning, beauty, and poetry in the everyday. ​
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To slow down and spend time observing a few objects is a wonderful privilege: Exploring the interaction of abstract shapes and colours, becoming attuned to the subtle play of light, delighting in the peculiarities of specific forms. Still life doesn’t communicate a message or meaning, but rather holds meaning in an open-handed sort of way. They are meditations not polemics. Whether the objects themselves suggest some associated memory, or the light suggests some associated mood, the still lifes I like tend to be very open to the viewer bringing meaning to the picture. I’ve never responded well to still life which does the opposite, trying to tell the viewer the meaning, such as Baroque still lifes designed to display wealth, or symbolic images whose iconography one must decode. 


There are numerous masters of the genre to be found in great museums: Claesz, Chardin, Fantin-Latour, Cezanne etc. But I want to focus on contemporary painters in this post. Below are a handful of still lifes by contemporary painters which I love.

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Jon Redmond
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Odd Nerdrum
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Andrew Wyeth
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Diarmuid Kelley
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Jeffrey T Larson
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Safet Zec
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James Bland
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Daniel Sprick
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Duane Keiser
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Christopher Gallego
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Zoey Frank
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Kathleen Speranza
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Michael Klein
3 Comments
Kathleen Speranza link
12/29/2017 12:22:15 pm

I am delighted to be included in this excellent blog post Simon. You write about still life with depth and sensitivity to the essential beauties of the genre. I am also very happy to be in the company of such fabulous painters! Many thanks

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Maxine Lefkowitz
12/30/2017 03:12:21 am

Still ife's are another beautiful dimension at the way we look at life. Another way to see the beauty and reflect the reality of the world we occupy and witness. To look at a tree, a pear, a rose in a painting is a way to embrace the world and quietly celebrate all that surrounds us.

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Rosemary Lewis link
5/9/2019 11:52:21 am

I find that objects and the spaces they inhabit do always tell a subtle human story, without the need for heavy handed symbolism as you say. Love the selection of works you have chosen.

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