Tag: still life

Chen Fei at Galerie Perrotin

Beijing-based artist Chen Fei channels Dutch still life in his painting of tempting foodstuffs but substitutes dumplings for bread and banana leaf wraps for grapes.  He cites Renaissance historian Vasari to question whether still life can be as engaging as portraiture, forcing the issue by presenting figurative painting in the downstairs gallery and still life upstairs.  While the large-scale nude characters downstairs steal the show with their unconventional personalities, the still lifes still wow with their sheer abundance.  (On view at Perrotin on the Lower East Side through Dec 21st).

Chen Fei, detail from Painting of Harmony, acrylic, gold and silver foil on linen mounted on board, 39 3/8 x 78 ¾ inches.

Holly Coulis at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery

Holly Coulis electrifies the traditional genre of still life, painting arrangements of glasses, pitchers and fruit that sometimes appear to defy gravity while popping dramatically off of the canvas in brilliant color.  In her latest show at Lower East Side gallery Klaus Von Nichtssagend, a bowl of lemons and one lime materialize in three dimensions to perform a wonderfully dynamic juggling act.  (On view through Dec 15th).

Holly Coulis, Arc of Floating Lemons, Lime, oil on MDF, 20 ¼ x 20 ¼ x 20 ¼ inches, 2019.

Matthew Hansel in Post Analogue Studio at The Hole NYC

17th century Dutch still life painters delighted in the effect of light hitting rich fabric or shiny glass; contemporary Brooklyn artist Matthew Hansel is into optical delights of a different sort as he mimics digital distortion in oil and flashe paint.  Included in The Hole’s continuing investigation of how digital techniques have impacted non-digitally created art, this shaped painting throws a little fun-house mirror effect into a traditional momento mori.  (On view on the Lower East Side through May 19th).

Matthew Hansel, The Tide That Left and Never Came Back, oil and flashe paint on linen mounted on panel, 30 x 44 inches, 2019.

Susan Jane Walp at Tibor de Nagy Gallery

Vermont-based painter Susan Jane Walp cites early Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca and 20th century great Giorgio Morandi as influences on her painting style.  Accordingly, Walp’s carefully tilted pummelo and spoon exude alertness, suggesting the objects depicted are literally poised for a diner.  A cropped wine cork, pewter jug and glass egg cup extend off the canvas to allude to a wider spread of items in this measured yet rich array.   (On view at Tibor de Nagy Gallery on the Lower East Side through April 14th).

Susan Jane Walp, Pummelo with Spoon, oil on linen, 10 ¼ x 10 inches, 2014.

Andrew Moore at Yancey Richardson Gallery

From the decaying elegance of Cuban houses to austere new apartments in Abu Dhabi, Andrew Moore’s photographs signal the passing of time and cycles of decay and renewal.  His latest body of work – on view at Yancey Richardson Gallery in Chelsea – took him to Alabama and Mississippi, where he photographed vestiges of the past like this carefully arranged and artfully neglected collection of bottles in Demopolis, AL.  (On view through Feb 9th).

Andrew Moore, Bottle Corner, Demopolis, AL, archival pigment print, 48 x 40 7/8 inches, 2016.