Still No More:
January 24 – April 15, 2023
Opening Reception:
January 26, 5-7pm.
Still No More presents a stimulating, renewed energy to the tradition of still life. Each exhibiting artist presents a synthesis of tradition and contemporary culture as they examine how still life continues to be relevant in artistic practice while propelling the style forward. The title of the exhibition references this sense of pushing beyond a static staged perspective in favor of work that reads as more of an evolutionary, convergent state between art history and contemporary culture.
Through the mediums of ceramics, photography, sculpture, installation, and painting, the exhibition expands the potential of what a still life can be while preserving the essence of what makes the genre iconic and memorable. Although decorative and seemingly beautiful, the works on view weave elements of dystopia or tragedy into the narrative as they engage contemporary issues such as climate change, genetically modified foods, and mass consumption.
The history and evolution of the still life span art history as a constant portal through which viewers glimpse into culturally relevant objects and reflect on their symbolism. While the exhibiting artists follow the still life tradition of presenting assumed markers of class, hierarchies of taste, and the reminder of impermanence, they do so with humor. Each playfully resists classic sumptuous icons in favor of an array of high and low-brow objects that are indicators of our time. While traditional still lifes would celebrate ripe fruit and a silver chalice, Still No More elevates things like cast cinderblocks and cardboard, boxed cake mix, and discarded toys. What do these objects say of the contemporary moment? What predictions do they make for the future?
Exhibiting Artists: Sarah Meyers Brent, Nicole Duennebier, Lindsey Lou Howard, Tamara Kostianovsky, Christina Pitsch, and Arden Surdam.
All public visitors must make a reservation. Please use this online reservation form: https://fs30.formsite.com/