Still

Still
Sept. 29 - Oct. 28

Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 29, 5-7pm
Artists Panel with Tharsing & Larusso: Friday, Oct. 13, noon-1pm

During the last three years, our homes have represented our refuge and fortress. They have protected us and provided us comfort. In this time at home, we have also increasingly acquainted ourselves with the objects and people that surround us. The parts of our daily lives that we might ignore or quickly gloss over emerged as everyday reminders of our space. Amongst the chaos of the world, we have embraced our homes as a place to be Still.

Throughout art history, still life paintings have served as a way to emphasize common objects and seemingly mundane moments. The artists in this exhibition combine this embracing of the everyday with instances of portraiture in order to share their spaces of refuge. Featuring the paintings of Scott Csoke, Jonathan Evans, Lori Larusso, & Lina Tharsing, Still showcases the artists’ experiences of home through the last two years. The works in this show explore the instances of the calm and serene stillness that exist amidst the chaos of life. These paintings serve as different iterations of the calm before, during, and after the storm. Here, there is stillness in preparation of what might be yet to come. Whether alone, with friends and family, or amongst nature, these times of stillness come to look very differently from one another. Regardless, these paintings, in distinct ways, illustrate aspects of the mundane in order to investigate the artist’s deeply intertwined relationship to their surroundings.

In this exhibition, the word Still also acts as a declaration of persistence. Despite the calmness in these images, they do not inherently evoke feelings of serenity. Exhaustion, sickness, and frustration continue to encroach on these paintings as well as on our lives at home. Rather than dwell in these feelings of discontent, however, the artists in this show remind us of the joyfully mundane parts of our lives that keep us moving forward. They emphasize the perseverance that still exists despite any fallbacks or shortcomings. This exhibition serves as a space of contemplation. Through their paintings, Csoke, Evans, Larusso, & Tharsing provide us with intimate moments of their lives in order to emphasize the importance of being still, and still being.

Image credit: Lori Larusso, 2021 Kitchen Sink Still Life (cutting board, butter, wrapper & paddle) Acrylic on polymetal panel 12 x 14 inches