Jacob A. Pfeiffer
SLICE OF LIFE
Jacob A. Pfeiffer SLICE OF LIFE
Solo Exhibition: October 9 - 15 Artist reception: October 9, 5 to 7pm on the cover: Slice of Life oil 12x16
225 Canyon Road Santa Fe, NM www.meyergalleries.com
Jacob A. Pfeiffer is a young artist who hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996 with highest honors. Pfeiffer’s technique is impeccable, precise, and uncannily accurate. His latest work consists of tightly rendered still lifes containing a wide variety of objects. Purposefully provocative compositions are constructed with meticulous and time consuming craftsmanship. A rich and deeply saturated palette is used to depict a myriad of complex textures. Pfeiffer designs his spaces with a deceptive simplicity that resonates with a sense of volume, drama, power and above all, humor. The resulting work has found a wide array of admiring collectors and has also garnered the attention of the art press, being featured in American Arts Quarterly, Art News, The Artist’s Magazine and gracing the covers of American Artist, Southwest Art and American Art Collector. His inclusion in several high profile museum shows attest to the status of this successful young artist. Jacob lives in Madison, WI with his wife and two children.
For his upcoming solo show, Wisconsin artist Jacob A. Pfeiffer presents a series of paintings that depict “slices of life,” or playful snapshots that ask viewers to pause and enjoy a simple moment of relief or humor. “I have noticed that with the inability to plan or forecast what the rest of the year will bring, I have been trying to live in the moment more – and that’s what this new work is all about,” says the artist.
This exhibition catalog includes exerpts from the artist interview with art writer, Kelly Carper
String Cheese 8x10 oil
Tipping the Scales 30x24 oil
Openings 13x15 oil
Tell us about the overarching theme or connective thread through this body of work. In this new body of work I continue my exploration of new and whimsical ways to create still life paintings. I am fascinated by the juxtaposition of using a meticulous and serious painting technique to create fun and humorous oil paintings. The state of the world has many people overwhelmed and deeply concerned. By continuing to inject humor and beauty into my paintings, it is my hope that they can offer the viewer a short respite from the serious times we are living in.
Middle Groun
nd 14x28 oil
Oil and Water 16x20 oil
Sweet Stack 6.25x6.25 oil
Goat Rodeo 30x24 oil
Sucker 8x6 oil
What sort of ideas/wordplays are you working out in these paintings? I love to present the viewer with a visual and playful puzzle that they need to solve in order to guess the titles I assign to each painting. Some of the paintings in the show have objects tossed in the air or flipped over in disarray. In the painting “Pineapple Upside down Cake,” a pineapple is bursting out of a clear plastic bag that is being suspended over a cupcake, which has landed upside down on a tabletop. The surface meaning behind this painting is of course the silly visual illustration of pineapple upside down cake, but if you ponder the composition a bit longer you might see that things are off kilter or not quite right…a good description of the current state of our world.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake 26.5x16.5 oil
Rock Candy 9x12 oil
Fly Ball 7x5 oil
Slice of Life 12x16 oil
Social Lubricant 14x14 oil
Pop Art 15x10 oil
How have events of the past year influenced your work in the studio? Like many of us, I have been hunkered down with my family during the Covid 19 pandemic. As a full time artist who works in a home studio, I considered myself incredibly lucky. My family and friends have stayed healthy, and I have been able to continue to do the kind of work that I love to do in the studio. I have noticed with the inability to plan or forecast what the rest of the year will bring, I have been trying to “live in the moment” more and that is what my new body of work is all about. Small “slices of life” that hopefully remind us to pause and take stock of what really matters in life.
Hope 12x9 oil
Figments 6x9 oil
Jacob A. Pfeiffer
SLICE OF LIFE
Figments 6x9 $2,500 Fly Ball 7x5 $2,300 Goat Rodeo 30x24 $25,000 HOPE 12x9 $3,000 Middle Ground 14x28 $7,800 Oil and Water 16x20 $6,800 Openings 13x15 $5,000 Pineapple Upside Down Cake 26.5x16.5 $8,500 Pop Art 15x10 $4,200 Rock Candy 9x12 $3,200 Slice of Life 12x16 $4,800 Social Lubricant 14x14 $5,000 String Cheese 8x10 $3,200 Sucker 8x6 $2,200 Sweet Stack 6.25x6.25 $1,800 Tipping the Scales 30x24 $14,000 Wet Your Whistle 8x6 $3,200
Jacob A. Pfeiffer 2013 Face to Face: Artists’ Self Portraits from the Collection of Jackie and Curtis Finch, Jr Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR Masters in Miniature: Small Works, Tree’s Place, Orleans, MA Recent Arrivals, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Still Life, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA National Contemporary Realism Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK BIBLIOGRAPHY: 2016 The Art of Vanitas, fine art publication by Rodney Davis American Art Collector, (Trees place show) Fine Art Connoisseur, “Art in Good Taste”, June issue American Art Collector, “Building Narratives”, October issue American Art Collector, “Artistic Alliance”, November issue American Art Collector, “Minute Masterpieces”, December issue American Arts Quarterly, page 57, Fall issue 2015 The Santa Fe New Mexican, “Pasatiempo” Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment & Culture 2014 American Art Collector, “Milestones”, November issue, page 142 American Art Collector, “Objects of Beauty”, April issue, page 149 AWARDS: 2016 Honorable Mention, 2016 Wisconsin Artist Biennial, Museum Of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI CORPORATE COLLECTIONS: Lucas Films, (personal collection of George Lucas) San Francisco, CA City of San Diego Art Collection, San Diego, CA Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT Howard Tullman collection, Chicago, IL Bahl and Gaynor, Cincinnati, OH Museum of Bags, Washington D.C. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Memorial Union Art Collection, Madison, WI YOUR FLESH Magazine Corporate collection, Minneapolis, MN Jordan Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA John Pence Collection, San Francisco, CA David Jacobs Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA Fremont Group, San Francisco, CA North American Properties, Cincinnati, OH Alex Williamson – Dickies Manufacturing Company, Forth Worth, TX
EDUCATION: Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Milwaukee, WI University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, BS in Art Education, 1996 SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 2017-20 Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2015 Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2013 Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2011 Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2010 Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2008 Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2017 National Contemporary Realism Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK New Year’s Group Exhibition, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Valentine Group Show, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK 2016 Wisconsin Artist Biennial, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI Four Artists to Watch, (4 person Show) John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Valentine’s Show, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK National Contemporary Realism Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK All Things Considered, Tree’s Place Gallery, Orleans, MA The Language of Objects, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA Still Life Invitational, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Small Works, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA Holiday Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK 2015 Star Wars: Visions, Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan Valentines Group Show, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK National Contemporary Realism Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK Small but Powerful - the Animate and Inanimate, Tree’s Place, Orleans, MA Still life and Florals, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Figures and Interiors, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Small Works Show, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2014 National Contemporary Realism Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK Art in Bloom, Tree’s Place, Orleans, MA Drawings, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Still life, Florals and Trompe l’Oeil, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA Figures and Interiors, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Principle Gallery, Charleston, SC A Holiday Celebration, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK
225 Canyon Road Santa Fe, NM www.meyergalleries.com