Contemporary Still-Life, 2017
Group exhibition curated by Toni Bailey at Casual Powerhouse Arts Centre, 2017.
Exhibiting artists included Olive Cotton, Marian Drew, Sarah Goffman, Madeleine Kelly, Rosalind Lemoh, Nigel Milsom, Jude Rae, Grace Cossington-Smith, Ricky Swallow and Michael Zavaros.
“The still life genre is often defined as the depiction of inanimate objects for the sake of their formal qualities such as: line, shape, colour, texture, tone, form, space and depth. Traditionally explored through painting, still life subjects were often found objects from the artist’s everyday lives for instance flowers, fruit, animals and skulls.1 These subjects were immortalised in paint as their real-life counterparts decayed. In this sense, the still life genre reminded people about the brevity of life whilst also teaching artists their trade. The genre has been adapted and readapted through years of evolving artistic practice, but what is the relevance of still life in a contemporary context?…Contemporary Still Life brings light and life to our perception of the everyday world around us and to a genre often perceived as stuffy or boring.”
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
