More Than an Object: The Contemporary Still Life

Libby Paloma Still Living [With], 2022 (detail)

Exploring the vitality and inventiveness of the still life tradition, the exhibit presents a multiplicity of innovative approaches and media including painting, photography, animation, and sculpture.

As a genre, the still life been practiced by artists for centuries. From ancient Greeks to 17th-century Dutch painters, from 19th-century modernists to today’s contemporary artists, still life endures as a significant mode of artistic expression – one that embodies both tradition and innovation.

Some still lifes are created to deceive viewers into believing they are looking at an object or interior as it appears in real life. This form of illusion has long been associated with the still life genre and is known by the French term trompe l’oeil. In addition to “fooling the eye”, artists use this style to express narratives ranging from the humorous to the personal. In her colorful installation, Con o Sin?, Christina Erives skillfully and playfully evokes the outer, paper skin of an onion, or the bright yellow yolk of a freshly broken egg. Those vibrant ceramics cause viewers to pause and look more closely at the artist's artful illusion.

More Than an Object includes nine participating artists who explore contemporary still life through three main themes: observation and illusion, popular culture, and the vanitas.

Still lifes often demonstrate a combination of virtuosic skills of observation and clever illusion. Painters Christopher T. Terry and Susan Abbot employ varying degrees of realism as they focus on the quality of light, or the fundamentals of form, color, and composition in their subjects. Other artists, such as Mike Pelletier, display their mastery of a specific technique or new media (such as computer animation) as they use everyday objects to resolve formal, creative problems.

For most viewers, still lives are often associated with 16th-and 17th-century Dutch depictions of abundance and wealth as a scene set in everyday life: tables overflowing with ripe fruit and game; exotic flowers; opulent glassware; and rare collectables. Even as the moral intention of these Dutch still lifes cautioned viewers against the emptiness of material pursuits, these paintings were equally valued for their lavish beauty, or as signifiers of economic prosperity.

With the emergence of Pop Art in the late 1950s and 1960s, still lifes again surged in popularity. Artists elevated mass-produced goods—from food and drink,

More Than an Object features nine contemporary artists who present the creative possibilities of the often overlooked still life genre.

to clothing or housewares—to works of fine art. Similar to their historic counterparts, today’s contemporary artists create still lifes that portray themes of presentday life set within a diverse and consumer-driven society. In Libby Paloma’s life-size re-creation of her living room, entitled Still Living [With], the artist creates whimsical replicas of everyday objects from home in soft sculpture. Paloma's installation exemplifies how still lifes offer a personal, sometimes amusing, commentary on the state of society as artists observe, question, or critique our cultural values. This is also the case for Zachary P. Stephens, who humorously reimagines the Dutch still life tradition as a critique of the myths and chaotic realities of modern-day families.

As the still life genre flourished in the 16th- and 17thcenturies, artists created compositions of greater complexity, bringing together a wide variety of objects that conveyed symbolic and allegorical narratives. These still lifes used imagery to convey more complex ideas, often imbued with a social message. One traditional mode of still life is the vanitas, a symbolic work of art expressing the transience of life, and the certainty of death. Vanitas still lifes remind the viewer of one’s mortality and the irrelevance of worldly possessions while often including symbolic objects such as a timepiece, decaying fruit or flowers, playing cards,

books, shells, or a candle. In her enigmatic ceramic abstactions, Oona Gardner evokes the mystery of old, tattered books. Found in her grandfather’s library, these books—their once treasured ideas marked with dog-eared pages—are now forgotten with the passage of time.

Other contemporary vanitas depictions use symbolism to examine our mortality through fraught political or racial histories, and darker themes of societal violence. Such is the case in the provocative sculpture of William Ransom, who transforms found and commonplace objects into powerful critiques of racial violence and generational trauma. Ori Gersht uses slow-motion photography to capture the moment in time where the tranquility of a still life is destroyed by a powerful projectile as a means to symbolize social and political fragility.

Often overlooked and underappreciated, the still life is continuously being reimagined by today’s contemporary artists who also use the genre to explore the personal, metaphoric, social, and unconventional. The artists and works featured in More Than an Object exemplify how the still life remains a popular and essential expression of our daily lives.

Ferrell, Curator and Director of Exhibitions

Heather

BCA Center, More Than an Object, installation view

Susan Abbott

Vermont artist Susan Abbott is best known for her vibrant depictions of fields, barns, and farmhouses inspired by the New England landscape. In More Than an Object, Abbott debuts two paintings Autumn Table and Peonies by a Window which comprise her new series, Tables By a Window. In these paintings, she evokes the historical tradition of the artist looking out from the painter’s studio as she explores the possibilities of combining still life and landscape genres. In Peonies by a Window, the artist incorporates objects of personal significance collected over the years with scenes inspired by the surrounding landscape. Along with traditional still life motifs such as the bowl of pears and lemons, fresh flowers, and playing card, Abbott pays homage to influential light and color artists by including visual cues such as a postcard of Richard Diebenkorn’s (1922-1993) Ocean Park series, and Josef Albers (1888-1976) Homage to the Square color abstractions.

Susan Abbott Autumn Table, 2021, oil on linen, 44 x 44"

Courtesy of the Artist

Susan Abbott

Peonies by a Window, 2019, oil on linen, 36 x 36"

Courtesy of the Artist

Christina Erives

In the vibrant ceramic sculpture of Christina Erives, the California artist transforms the still life into a tongue-in-cheek exploration of tradition and heritage. Con o Sin?, with its array of eggs, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and colorful serving dishes, evokes the types of food and vessels one may find while preparing an everyday meal at the artist’s family home. A fundamental source of nourishment and an important aspect of daily life, food often serves as a powerful signifier of personal and cultural identity.

In many cultures, food preparation and caring for the family are tended to by women. Erives challenges these expectation of customary gender roles passed down through generations by using artful illusion and humorous, visual innuendo.

As a Mexican-American whose heritage traces back to Puebla, Mexico, Erives slyly includes poblano chiles in her work as a witty pun on “Poblano”—the nickname for the inhabitants of Puebla where the green chili pepper is grown. By titling the installation ‘with or without?’ (as translated from Spanish), Erives playfully alludes to both traditional foodways and the choices we make regarding our identity.

Con o Sin?, 2022, ceramic, 3' x 7' x 8"

Christina Erives

Courtesy of the Artist and LaiSun Keane, Boston

Christina Erives

Huevo (egg in pan), 2020, ceramic, 1.5 x 12 x 8.25" Courtesy of the Artist and LaiSun Keane, Boston

Con Todo (cutting board), 2020, ceramic, 13.5 x 9.5 x 4.75"

Courtesy of the Artist and LaiSun Keane, Boston

Christina Erives

Ori Gersht

Through his exquisite photographs, London-based artist Ori Gersht engages with the still life genre as a means to explore the delicate nature of existence, as well as the duality between what is enduring and what is momentary.

Evertime 04 is part of a series of photographs that emulate the forms, colors, and compositions of Italian artist Giorgio Morandi’s (1890-1964) still life paintings.

For his series, Gersht commissioned reproductions of different vessels depicted in Morandi still lifes. Meticulously arranging objects and lighting to evoke the Italian’s iconic still life compositions, the artist used slow-motion capture to show the fleeting moment when high velocity gunfire strikes and shatters the still life.

Similar to traditional vanitas still lifes that encourage viewers to consider the transience of life, Gersht’s Everytime 04 was conceived as symbolic of the Europeans Union’s political fragility. When placed within an American context, the photographs also challenge viewers to consider the wider moral and social implications of how sudden acts of violence impact our daily lives.

Ori Gersht

Evertime 04, 2018, archival pigment print, ed. 6, 14.5 x 18.75"

Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York

Ori Gersht

Lilium Candidum 04P, 2018, archival pigment print, 1/6, 33.5 x 27.25"

Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York

Oona Gardner

Oona Gardner is a Vermont artist whose practice includes drawing, photography, and installation. Her sculptural objects and installations explore how form comes together and is reconstructed around recognizable systems. Gestural and intuitive, her sculptural objects and installations connect with viewers at a visceral level.

In her series Dog-Eared, Gardner draws inspiration from a collection of books she discovered while cleaning out her grandfather’s library. The volumes were old, tattered, and well-loved. Marked by folded pages, hundreds of paper tabs, and handwritten notes, these books included pages stuck permanently together, their contents forever lost. In Dog-Eared V, the artist captures the mystery of these worn tomes using minimal, volumetric forms and a ceramic surface covered in graphite. Books, a common motif of the still life genre, symbolize knowledge. In a similar manner, Gardner’s books signify once-treasured thoughts and ideas now forgotten with the passage of time.

Oona Gardner

Dog Eared IV, 2021, ceramic, 9 x 12 x 12"

Courtesy of the Artist

Oona Gardner

Dog Eared V, 2021, ceramic, 14 x 15 x 13"

Courtesy of the Artist

Oona Gardner

Mother’s Day Still Life, 2022, ceramic, 30 x 23 x 2"

Courtesy of the Artist

BCA Center, More Than an Object, opening reception

BCA Center, More Than an Object, opening reception

Libby Paloma

At the center of multidisciplinary artist Libby Paloma’s creative practice is her expression of identity, experiences, and emotion through visual work and performance. Paloma draws upon elements of kitsch, craft, and queer culture, including aesthetics inspired by her Mexican-American culture heritage. Her work is often imbued with humor and joy as in the case of Still Living [With]. Created specifically for BCA Center, this life-size installation includes more than 40 soft sculptures created with upcycled fabric that is sewn and stuffed to emulate items found in the artist’s living room. These whimsical replicas of everyday objects evoke still life interiors and include: books and a bookcase, a table lamp, fruit, records, an ottoman, a nut butter sandwich, and a bright red bicycle. More than mere objects, many of the items in Still Living [With] hold personal significance for Paloma, symbolizing key aspects of the artist’s daily life and creative practice. Encouraging further immersion in the installation, the artist invites visitors to sit or lay down on the carpet. Still Living [With] amuses us with its whimsical creations. Equally, the installation is both an imaginative critique on the materiality of American consumerism—how it defines and shapes our sociocultural identity.

Libby Paloma

Still Living [With], 2022, mixed media installation, 9' 10" x 10' 6" x 7' 6"

Courtesy of the Artist

Mike Pelletier

Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Canadian artist Mike Pelletier works exclusively with digital media in his creative practice. In Nature Morte, Pelletier reimagines the still life genre as a collaboration between artist and computer. Selecting 3D scans of fruits and vegetables from an online, open source library, the artist transforms the images utilizing Houdini, a 3D animation software commonly used for the creation of visual effects in film and games. Through a series of programmed situations and parameters that produce unexpected effects, Pelletier distorts and animates his still life subjects into bizarre configurations.

Nature morte, the French term for “still life” (which translates as “dead nature”) evokes themes of decay and time’s passage similar to the Dutch tradition. Melons, pears, and zucchini inflate, bounce, and crumple before our eyes defying the laws of nature with a visual effect that is as oddly pleasing as it is disquieting.

Mike Pelletier

Nature Morte, 2016, digital animation (4:07 min)

Courtesy of the Artist

William Ransom

In his evocative sculptures, Vermont artist William Ransom creates visceral encounters between his still lifes and viewers transforming commonplace and found objects into powerful critiques of American society.

A year after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, and the resulting cultural reckoning of many Americans with the nation’s ongoing legacy of racism, another Black man – 20 year old Daunte Wright – was killed by a Minneapolis police officer after being pulled over for having air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror. These deaths, among others, shook Ransom, and in response he created Taser*.

In this sober still life, Ransom places small blocks of wood to form the outline of a tree-shaped air freshener. Home made pine tar transmits the intense smell of burnt wood to the viewer, a scent Ransom imagines evocative of the discharge of a taser gun striking its victim. The artist personalizes the vanitas by including his grey hoodie, which catches the black tar dripping down from above.

*The officer who shot and killed Wright yelled “Taser!” before pulling out a 9mm pistol and fatally shooting Wright.

Taser, 2021, burned wood, pine tar, and hoodie, 71 x 27 x 4"

William Ransom

Courtesy of the Artist

Heir, 2022, wood, granulated white sugar, antique sugar cane machete, and paint, 45 x 22 x 60"

William Ransom

Courtesy of the Artist

Zachary StephensP.

In his digital color photographs, New Hampshire artist Zachary P. Stephens reimagines the Dutch still life tradition as a humorous critique of the myths and realities of fatherhood, parenting, and modern-day families. Stephens constructs his domestic still lives by digitally collaging separate objects and scenes together using Adobe Photoshop. The final photograph, with its highly saturated colors and compressed space, conveys a sense of claustrophobia and unease as the artist captures the anxieties and banality of everyday family activities.

In Breakfast, Stephens upturns the classic 17th century Dutch still life breakfast scene, with its lavish fruit, flowers, and tableware, to present a 21st-century version complete with each child’s separate choice of food, spilled cereal, toys, and a wayward feline crouching on the kitchen table. The artist drolly captures the stress and chaos of preparing breakfast for his family with the phrase “help us” spelled out in colorful Froot Loops.

Breakfast, 2017, archival pigment print, 24 x 36" Courtesy of the Artist

Zachary P. Stephens

Zachary P. Stephens

Winter Gear, 2017, archival pigment print, 24 x 36"

Courtesy of the Artist

Christopher T. Terry

Rhode Island painter Christopher T. Terry employs a virtuosic command of light and color to create his iconic still life interiors. Often labelled a realist, Terry describes his process as one based as much on memory and invention as from direct observation. An essential theme in his work is the transformative qualities of light that elevate the most mundane objects to meditative, secular alters. Terry selects and stages his still lifes carefully within anonymous interiors. His subjects are the insignificant artifacts of everyday life – a coffee cup, small bowl, teapot, or water pitcher – arranged simply on a tabletop.

In Blue Curtain, a streak of bright sunlight runs across the fabric of a creased, unpressed tablecloth. Centered on the table is a solitary conch shell whose distinctive shape is accentuated by the dark blue fabric draped across the back window. In traditional 17th-century Dutch still lifes, seashells often symbolized birth or good fortune. For Blue Curtain, the enigmatic shell was most likely gathered from a beach near the artist’s home.

Blue Curtain, 2022, oil on canvas, 42 x 32"

Christopher T. Terry

Courtesy of the Artist

Christopher T. Terry

Shrouded Bust, 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 48"

Courtesy of the Artist

Christopher T. Terry

Still Life with Yellow Teapot, 2021, oil on canvas, 22 x 28"

Courtesy of the Artist

BCA Center, More Than an Object, opening reception

BCA Center, More Than an Object, installation view

Artist Biographies

Oona Gardner (b. 1977, Vershire, Vermont) is an artist whose practice includes drawing, photography, and sculptural installation. Gardner explores how form comes together and is reconstructed around recognizable systems. Her art has been exhibited in Los Angeles, CA at Chime and Co. and the Torrance Art Museum, and Rio Hondo College in Whittier, CA, among other venues. She has shown work in the project space at NCECA, Phoenix, AZ, as well as the 72nd Scripps Annual, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Claremont, CA. Gardner has been awarded several international residencies including the European Ceramic Work Center in the Netherlands and the NES Artist Residency in Skagastrond, Iceland. She lives and works in Norwich, Vermont.

Susan Abbott (b. 1951, Washington, D.C) is best known for her vibrant depictions of fields, barns, and farmhouses inspired by the New England landscape. Abbott’s work has been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA, and the Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD. She has been a recipient of the Maryland Art Council ‘Individual Artist Award’, as well as a Vermont Arts Council ‘Creation Grant’. Abbot lives and works in northern Vermont.

Christina Erives (b. 1989, Los Angeles, California) transforms the still life genre into a tongue-in-cheek exploration of tradition and heritage. She has worked as a Resident Artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, Belger Craneyard Studios in Kansas City, MO, Arquetopia, and Rasquache in Puebla, Mexico. Erives’ recent exhibitions include Ceramiques Gourmandes at Foundation Bernandaud in Limoges, France, US Emerging Voices in Clay at District Clay Gallery in Washington, D.C., L.A.S (Latin American Status) at 707 Penn Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA, and Lineal Rituals at Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery in Kansas City, MO. She lives and works in California.

Ori Gersht (b. 1967, Tel Aviv, Israel) exploits the technical limits of photography to manipulate the relationships between history, memory, and landscape. He adopts a poetic, metaphorical approach to explore the difficulties of visually representing conflict and violent events or histories. Gersht has had solo exhibitions at the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Tel Aviv Museum, Israel, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, and Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Germany. Gersht lives and works in London, England.

Mike Pelletier (b. 1978, Saskatchewan, Canada) works exclusively with digital media in his creative practice. Pelletier has presented his work internationally, including at Microwave International New Media Arts Festival, Hong Kong, China, Onedotzero screening, Resonate Festival, Belgrade, Serbia, Ars Electronica, Linz, Australia, Nuit Blanche, Montreal, Canada, Adrenaline, São Paulo, Brazil, and the Goethe Institute, London, England. His work was longlisted for the 2016 Lumen Prize and he received an honorary mention in Computer Animation for the Prix Ars Electronica. He currently lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

BCA Center, More Than an Object, opening reception

BCA Center, More Than an Object, opening reception

Libby Paloma (b. 1980, Santa Ana, California) works in sculpture, installation, performance, and video. At the heart of her practice is the desire to perform, experience, and understand vulnerability. Paloma’s work has been exhibited at El Museo Del Barrio in New York, NY, SOMArts in San Francisco, CA, SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME, and the Dorsky Museum in New Paltz, NY, where she received the 2019 Hudson Valley Artist Purchase Award. Paloma has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, the Wassaic Project in Wassaic, NY, and SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME. She works between Vermont and New York.

William Ransom (b. 1975, Strafford, Vermont) investigates the balance between personal and collective histories, as well as dichotomies in his everyday life. Ransom’s work has been exhibited extensively in Los Angeles, CA at Chime and Co., Torrance Art Museum, Greene Exhibitions, and Fellows of Contemporary Art. Additional shows include Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, VT, Ogilvy & Mather, New York, NY, Open End Gallery, Chicago, IL, Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, MN, John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY, and Staniar Gallery at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. He received a Windgate Fellowship at The Vermont Studio Center, an Open Studio Fellowship at Franconia Sculpture Park, and a Claremont Graduate University Art Department Fellowship. Ransom lives and works in Norwich, Vermont.

Zachary Stephens (b. 1983, Brattleboro, Vermont) background in photojournalism and documentary photography is the basis for his foray into constructed realities. Stephens creates composited tableaux that explore the routine moments of domesticity, parenthood, and the traditions of the American family. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with the Photographic Exploration Project in Berlin, Germany, Gabba Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, Candela Gallery in Richmond, VA, Woody Gaddis Photographic Arts Gallery in Edmond, OK, Kayafas Gallery in Boston, MA, and Dianich Gallery in Brattleboro, VT. Stephens was named a finalist in Photolucida’s 2020 Critical Mass. He currently resides and teaches in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Christopher Terry (b. 1956, Stamford, Connecticut) is a Rhode Island painter who creates iconic still life interiors. Often based as much on memory and invention as from direct observation. Terry’s paintings have been exhibited at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, UT, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC, Pryor Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA, Marshall Arts Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, Yates Gallery, Loudonville, NY, and ArtProv Gallery, Providence, RI. Terry is the recipient of numerous awards including the Utah Visual Artist Fellowship and a WESTAF/ NEA Fellowship in Painting. He has twice been the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship for Teaching and Research in Germany, and was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. He currently resides in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Curator & Director of Exhibitions: Heather Ferrell

Curatorial Assistant, More Than an Object: Kate Malmstrom

Curatorial Assistant/Gallery Coordinator: Jacquie O’Brien Design: Ted Olson

Exhibition Photography: Sam Simon

Opening Reception Photography: Renee Greenlee

2022 Exhibition Year Presented by

More Than an Object is sponsored in part by The Maslow Family Foundation and Leunig’s Bistro & Café.

Hospitality sponsors: Lake Champlain Chocolates, Farrell Distributing, and Prophecy Wines.

Burlington City Arts is supported in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by The Vermont Arts Council & the National Endowment for the Arts.

William Ransom Taser, 2021 (detail)

burlingtoncityarts.org