Six talented artists showcase their take on everyday reality in a new way
Ask most art aficionados to describe still life paintings and their responses will most likely recite details about works depicting mostly inanimate subject matters, including elements such as flowers, plants, rocks, and dead animals. Think Juan Sánchez Cotán’s “Still Life with Game Fowl, Vegetables and Fruits” (1602). Perhaps those discussing the genre would also mention paintings showcasing common human-made objects such as vases, coins, or jewelry. They might also reflect that the genre is exemplified by old Flemish paintings, dark in tone and often depicting dead animals, especially game.
Au contraire! When one peruses the diverse works celebrated at the opening reception for “Feminine Perspectives: A Still Life Exhibit at the City Hall Art Gallery” on Nov. 17, one enjoys a variety of still life works that, as the exhibit announcement phrased it, “reflect on the delicate balance between the mundane and the profound.”
Fireball Tim Lawrence, chair of the Malibu Arts Commission, and Julia Holland, who serves as the vice chairwelcomed attendees.
“Originally, we were going to have still life pieces from everyone, but as the submissions came in, we decided that most of the artists were women and that we’d focus on the unique perspective of women,” Lawrence said.
“The exhibit just evolved,” Holland said, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Participating artist Martha Meade explained how from her perspective, the genre of still life painting has evolved.
“I always thought of still life as including traditional Dutch pieces with a vase and some flowers and perhaps dead flowers as well,” she said. “However, I now look at the genre as including the process of looking closely at the subject and focusing on a single thing about it and going deep into that feature.”
Meade, who pursued art fervently after a stint as an actress, creates works that focus on particular objects and aspects of the world around her that, as the exhibit informs, “try to convey an essence that speaks to her,” thereby creating a personalized realism.
Mia Babalis, who specializes in painting, sculpture, and installations that explore the ephemeral nature of life, was originally a professional dancer. Her multidisciplinary background informs her artistic practice, blending movement,and visual storytelling into evocative works that invite viewers to reflect on their own experience. Also showcasing their works were Cathey Cadieux, an accomplished portrait painter with a studio in Malibu who has exhibited widely and has taught finger painting and other art classes.
Joining those two artists is Debbi Green, who brings to her canvases her varied background in creative arts, including pursuits in everything from designing sportswear, creating children’s hand-painted furniture and working as a costumerin the film industry. Leslie Lienau, known for her pastel paintings and for her popular teaching of drawing and painting in the classical tradition for both children and adults, adds joy to the exhibit with her works. Malibu artist Roxanne Skene, a muralist, painter, and sculptor whose commissioned life-size works include pieces for The Hilton Family and the Thousand Oaks Civic Auditorium, among others, rounds out the beautiful exhibit.
The artists chatted with attendees, discussing the aspects of their paintings, including composition, texture, subject matter, dimension, and artistic processes
“My floral still life paintings are done from life,” Cadieux said. “So, the flowers are not actually still — they are in the process of opening or closing. My sense in depicting them is to capture their essence before they wilt and die.”
Elaborating, Cadieux explained further, stating, “The painting immortalizes them, and I can continue to enjoy their beauty long after they are gone — each rose has been grown and nurtured by me. It reaches its peak which is fleeting — this is a commentary on our own lives.”
“Blooms at Night,” a gorgeous painting by Meade, depicts a San Pedro cactus in full bloom.
“I’ve tried to capture the top of the cactus where the bud forms,” Meade explained, noting that when it is blooming thecaucus “releases the most amazing fragrance!” Gazing at the stunning rendition one can also smell its gorgeous scents.
Intrigued attendees came upon Skene’s “Rock Paper Scissors,” a painting that explores the fun game with a new take.
“I decided to do a series of rock, paper, and scissors that depicts the things that can go wrong when playing the game,” Skene explained. “I incorporated the elements of wind, fire and water, elements that make the outcome of the game even more uncertain as the rock, paper, and scissors are subject to the fire’s power, the wind’s spiritual-like movement, and the water’s power.”
Skene noted she thoroughly enjoyed creating the work using metal brackets to connect its panels, and she warmly invited anyone visiting Aspen to stop by the gallery where her works, including her lovely bronze sculptures, are on show.
Lienau’s exhibited pieces included “Bread and Cheese,” an oil on board work that plays with the use of light to emphasize a knife perched on a slice of cheese, perhaps ready for its owner to indulge in an afternoon snack and another work entitled, “Lemons and Blueberries,” which similarly invitingly beckons one to imagine enjoying the tasty fruit.
Green’s works intrigued attendees, who leaned in to closely examine her work entitled “Saturday Bouquet,” enjoying its chiaroscuro-like lighting and its unique composition wherein a vase flush with flowers is positioned near the edge of a table, casting its shadow toward an empty space.
Attendees mingled, observed, and conversed, enjoying snacks and the art and swaying with music performed by Christopher Woodley. It was an ideal way to spend a Malibu Sunday afternoon.
“We humans are creative beings who are most happy when we can see a creation from concept all the way to completion,” Lawrence said. “We are glad that we celebrate that process with our inspiring exhibit!”