Thornton Dial at David Lewis Gallery

Thornton Dial included an image of himself, banging a pan to bring people together to start a meal in the upper portion of this riff on William Merritt Chase’s Still Life with Watermelon.  As seen in this detail of a larger painting, he included a second real frying pan filled with paintings of eggs positioned near lusciously colored fruits, suggesting the bounty that an artist can provide.  (At David Lewis Gallery on the Lower East Side through March 18th).

Thornton Dial, detail of Setting the Table, shoes, gloves, bedding, beaded car-seat cover, cloth carpet, artificial flowers, crushed paint cans, found metal, frying pan, cooking utensils, chain, wood, Splash Zone compound, oil and enamel on canvas on wood, 74 x 74.5 x 8 inches, 2003.