#still-life

#still-life

The Brooklyn-based artist is formally trained as a painter and self-taught as a ceramicist, and she fuses the two modes of working into a complementary practice. Hier begins by sculpting a wide range of forms, and after several rounds of firing with both handmade and commercially available glazes, she adds a painting. The pairings arise intuitively, sometimes through free association, trial and error, or by homing in on a color.

There's always something a little bit unsettling about Sabrina Bockler 's dynamic paintings, although it can sometimes take a moment to narrow down the reason why. At first glance, a table appears sumptuously set, or a floral scene unfolds with brilliant hues. Upon further inspection, we'll notice a two-headed goose, a table of food being ravaged by cats and dogs, or the disquieting feeling you're being watched.

A dead fish lies still on a chopping board, its rear end sliced off, scales scattered across the wood. One animated eye and open mouth make it look as though it might slither off the table. This is 's Fish Still Life (1950), a small, ghostly painting that is currently on show in Alice NeelStill Lifes and Street Scenes, a new exhibition at Xavier Hufkens in Brussels.

A simple gesture is capable of unleashing a gale of emotions, conjuring the promise of infinite pleasure. Cracking into a watermelon brings the sense of summer alive.