It’s all about The Simple Things...
The Chastain Arts Center Gallery exhibition explores new perspectives on the most ordinary things.
“The intention of the show is to present ‘The Still Life’ painting through the lens of contemporary art,” Karen Comer Lowe, curator of the exhibition, says. “Finding the work was a challenge since a lot of what I encountered was either traditional still life paintings, abstract paintings, or conceptual work. My hope is that the show will expand the idea of the still life painting and bring attention to the common objects in our lives for design and artistic value.”
Featuring work from Georgia-based artists Philip Carpenter, Karen Appleton, Wesley Terpstra, and David Wendel, the work shows scraps of paper, household tools, and food as subjects, shifting the context of the contemporary still life.
“What I appreciate about the title It’s Simple Things... for an exhibition of carefully crafted work is the demonstration that ‘simple’ is not equivalent to ‘insignificant,’” Terpstra, one of the participating artists, says. “By spending time contemplating a simple object, we take a step outside of the insulation of our assumptions and have a moment of less-mediated reality.”
These days, we all need to appreciate the little, simple things in our daily lives — that’s for sure.