Still life 249

Jude Rae (b.1956) is an established and celebrated painter of portraits and still lifes. Currently living and working between Sydney and Canberra, Rae has established herself as an important still life and portrait painter in Australia and New Zealand, using the rich history of these genres as the basis of her works. Her works are highly sought after and she has won the Portia Geach Memorial Award for portraiture twice, in 2005 and 2008, once for a self-portrait and once for a portrait of fellow artist Micky Allan, who is also represented in this series.

In 1975 Rae gained a Diploma in Drawing and Painting from the Julian Ashton Art School Sydney, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree (majoring in Art History) in 1980 from the University of Sydney, and a Master’s degree in 1993 in painting from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Still life 249 is from a series of works which depict a mixture of ordinary household items like vases and commercial objects such as fire extinguishers. Her mastery of the medium is reflected in her restrained deployment of brush stokes creating a shimmering effect on the stillness of the objects.

Still life 249 depicts a red and white striped box partially hidden behind a clear plastic soft drink bottle set against three grey horizontal tones. The reflection of the box in the bottle, their shapes reflected on the plane beneath and the juxtaposition of feminine and masculine forms is typical of the artist’s compositional style.