Still Life as Oasis

Created for the exhibition "House of Risk" (2018), Still Life was situated in the Dake Gallery, a room darkly paneled in the borrowed woodwork of an English mansion. The seemingly disparate objects on the table weave a web of intersections and interconnections that runs counter to the orderly grid of the wall panels in the gallery. Transition and transformation are key elements, as the table goes from historic methods of construction to contemporary and mass-produced. A camel is walking toward a large gem which suggests trade routes and the search for riches but also a 1950’s-era concept of space that was embodied in “Sputnik jewelry”. A skull teapot recognizes death as a part of life while also playfully considering the human body as a rudimentary material. Imitation flowers and plants spill over the table’s boundaries representing overgrowth to be continually tamed. Curated by Shana McCaw, Senior Curator, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum.

Photography by Kevin Miyazaki.