Portland Museum of Art Still Life Exhibition
Objects of Wonder: Four Centuries of Still Life
By: Bob Fowler - Jan 20, 2010
A still life in its most basic terms is the depiction of an arrangement of inanimate objects, including most often, but not limited to—flowers, fruit, tableware, books, newspapers, and musical instruments. Still-life works celebrate the significance of even the most mundane aspects of our daily existence. The function of a still life may be straightforward representation or the artist may intend to convey a more subtle, moral message. For example, cut flowers, a snuffed-out candle, or signs of decay in fruit and other food represent the transience of life and are meant to remind viewers of their own mortality. As Pierre Skira, author of Still Life: A History, described: "All that can be swallowed, munched, sucked, drunk, or chewed, finds grace therein. [The still life] displays, probes, investigates the heart of the fruit, the smoothness and coarseness of skins, the harshness of tastes…and the abandonment of bodies. It subscribes to the wet and to the dry, to full, pregnant, or drawn-and-quartered, eviscerated forms."
This exhibition demonstrates the extent to which the genre continues to engage and inspire artists—from Old Masters to Maine masters. Grounded in seemingly unadventurous subject matter, the genre has become a vehicle for artists to take risks and to develop new visual strategies. Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Roy Lichtenstein, Charles Sheeler, and Walt Kuhn, among other European and American masters represented in this exhibition, transform the commonplace into objects of wonder and desire.
Along with the Norton Museum of Art's selections, the exhibition will include numerous examples of still life from the Portland Museum of Art's collection as well as from private lenders. Paintings and works on paper by Maine artists Joseph Nicoletti, Alex Katz, and Mary Hart will be interspersed with the Norton's works of art within the galleries. These juxtapositions will allow us to view our works in new contexts and to discover intriguing parallels. In addition, embedded within the exhibition will be an interactive "cabinet of curiosities"—a cabinet, which not only displays unique decorative art objects from the Museum's collection, but will also allow visitors to create and sketch their own still-life arrangements.
This exhibition is organized by the Norton Museum of Art, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, and founded by philanthropist and businessman Ralph Norton and his wife in 1941. Together they collected hundreds of works of art. At his death in 1953, he left a bequest of 253 works of art, many of which are featured in this exhibition. The Portland Museum of Art is the first venue on the exhibition's traveling tour. After Maine, the exhibition travels to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama (July 3 through October 10, 2010) and to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee (October 16, 2010 through January 9, 2011).
This exhibition was organized by the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Media support is provided by WCSH 6 and Mainebiz
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February Vacation Week: Make Your Still-Life Masterpiece
Tuesday through Thursday, February 16, 17, & 18, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free with Museum admission. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Supplies provided.
Bring your family to the Museum to try out what Objects of Wonder is all about—making the ordinary extraordinary. Be a part of the fantastic feast for the eyes and make your own still-life drawing from a selection of fruit, sweets, and other "objects of wonder." Each day the Museum will have a different still life set up in the Great Hall with art materials to create and compose your own masterpiece. Portland still-life artist Rob Sullivan will work beside you, cheering you on as you tackle this time honored subject.
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Lecture: Media Chef: Lou Ekus
Saturday, February 27, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Free with Museum admission.
Cooking shows are one of the most popular categories on television these days. Do chefs automatically know how to act in front of a camera? Of course not! Lou Ekus has been teaching media skills to top food celebrities for the past 25 years. If you watch any cooking on television, there's a very good chance you're watching one of Lou's graduates. Having coached names like Todd English, Mary Ann Esposito, Emeril Lagasse, Sara Moulton, Rachel Ray, Michael Symon, and Ming Tsai, Lous has a full bag of ancedotes, techniques, and "insider info" that will change the way you watch food on television forever.
The Drawing Club: Wednesdays with Objects of Wonder
Wednesdays, March 3, 10, 17, & 24, 10 a.m. to Noon. Cost for all four sessions: $45/$35 members.
Join our very popular club for people who love to draw from the great masters. Study and sketch the paintings of food, flowers, and fantastic objects in the exhibition Objects of Wonder. We'll begin in the Community Studio to share techniques and ideas, then head up to the galleries to sketch. At the end of the month, we'll each have a full sketchbook that documents our personal responses to the art we see.
2010 Bernard A. Osher Lecture: Judith Jones
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