In the Mia Brownell series “Plate to Platelet,” the painter combines the sensibility of classical still life and the scientific investigation of blood cells, examining the relationship between consumers and food. Brownell is currently involved in two shows: a duo effort with Hunterdon Art Museum with Martin Kruck titled “Skepitcal Realism” and a group show at Shiva Gallery titled “Foodie Fever.” She was last featured on our site here.
The acrylic paintings of Olan Ventura reference the still-life paintings of the Old Masters, yet take a contemporary turn in conveying what only appear to be printing errors that run hues off the canvas. While conveying “glitches” with paint can be found in the practices of contemporaries, Venture is able to navigate both ends of time in his faithful recreations.
Kathy Ager’s stirring paintings, inspired by classical still-life and Baroque iconography, integrate pop cultural and personal objects. In a new show at Thinkspace Projects, titled “Golden Age,” her recent explorations are offered, each showing the artist’s knack in both realism and graphical, toon-influenced rendering. The show opens tomorrow and runs through July 20.
Mia Brownell, a Chicago-based artist and daughter of a sculptor and biophysicist, has a new body of work that she says “simultaneously draw on scientific images of platelets (tiny blood cells shaped like plates) and the history of the painted food still life.” The new series is called “Plate to Platelets: and other things that travel and bind,” and it features several new palette paintings. Brownell is featured in the Hi-Fructose Collected 4 Boxset.
The billowed rugs and other objects in Antonio Santin’s ghostly oil paintings are rendered with unsettling realism. The Madrid native works in “elaborate still-lifes,” as he alters his subjects to create new realities. The artist taps into the tradition of Spanish Tenebrism and a sculptural background to dream up and execute these works on canvas. When photographed from a distance, the work still turns heads, with the viewer attempting to understand what he or she is seeing. He was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 18 and was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
In painting nature, artist David Kroll evokes a classical sense of beauty and fragility. He combines elements of naturalist painting and still life in his portrayal of animals like elegant egrets and koi which perch and swim around delicate objects. Though remarkably detailed and inspired by early landscape painting, Kroll has said that he wants to paint a version of the wild that is romantic, and not necessarily realistic. “I paint refuges, places to go to for solace. I want my paintings to be destinations of quiet and calm,” he says. “However, this world is fragile.”