Feasting on Art

The curated group exhibition Art + Food: Beyond the Still Life at Brenda May Gallery in Sydney, considers the representation of food within the visual arts and beyond the standard still life tableaux. The consumption of food is a universally shared experience, enabling people viewing the exhibition to connect with the issues surrounding consumerism, food production and cultural identity.

Some of the highlights include a large installation of biscuit tins amassed by the artist Christine Turner over a 15-year period as well as an installation by Sue Saxon + Jane Becker of hundreds of fragile eggshells on strands of lights. The show also includes a number of photographs featuring melting ice sculptures by Janet Tavener, the colourful remnants of meals by Vin Ryan and both a colourful and melting ice block by Will Nolan. A sculpture composed of Murray River salt by Ken + Julia Yonetani will be offset by the artistic rendering of salt diffraction by Al Munro. The only traditional still life painting in the exhibition is by Michael Edwards who paints cement fruit which makes for a perfect pairing with the actual cast cement hamburgers by Will Coles.

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The 2.5 x 2.5 metre biscuit tin installation by Christine Turner is featured in the current curated exhibition Art + Food: Beyond the Still Life at Brenda May Gallery in Sydney. According to Turner, ”I have found that biscuit tins require a simple configuration when presented in artworks. Each tin provides a great deal of information of its own. Information about societal customs, the economy, consumerism and much more.” Most people, when viewing the work, circle the parameter recognising tins from their own mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens. The installation draws on people’s nostalgia for familiar things and a certain time or place. The recipe below, provided by the artist, is for an Anzac biscuit, a hard cookie made of rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup. Because of their long shelf-life, the cookies were often sent by the wives of soldiers to the men overseas; hence their name (ANZAC – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps).

Christine Turner, Lifescape, 2012, mixed media – biscuit tins,
250 x 250cm (dimensions variable), Courtesy the Artist and Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

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The collage titled Stew by Elizabeth Willing constructed with imagery from vintage cookbooks, will be featured in the upcoming curated exhibition Art + Food: Beyond the Still Life at Brenda May Gallery in Sydney. The imagery is clipped from recipes of stews and casseroles which are then “seamlessly knitted together.  The casseroles array of textures and ingredients, made less enticing by the uninspiring food photography of the 70’s and 80’s, make for a revolting spew-like blob far removed from the pleasures of a home cooked meal.”

Elizabeth Willing, Stew, 2012
collage, 100 x 100cm, Courtesy the Artist and Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

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The deadline for artist proposals is fast approaching with a little more than 2 weeks left. Submit your info to Brenda May Gallery before Friday 27 July 2012 to be considered for inclusion in Art + Food: Beyond the Still Life.

We have a great list of artists already confirmed for the show including Will Coles, Liz Deckers, Michael Edwards, Stuart Elliott (courtesy Turner Galleries, Perth), Sara Field (courtesy Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney) James Guppy, Al Munro, Will Nolan, Vin Ryan (courtesy of Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne), Sue Saxon and Jane Becker, Robyn Stacey (courtesy Stills Gallery, Sydney), Janet Tavener, Christine Turner and Ken + Julia Yonetani (courtesy Artereal Gallery, Sydney).

Artworks range from sculptures of fruits made of Murray River salt to a 2.5 metre installation of biscuit tins collected over a 15 year period. We will be installing the etherial eggshell work by Sue Saxon and Jane Becker titled ‘All that is solid melts into air’ which was originally exhibited at the TarraWarra Museum of Art in Victoria. Check out the website to see a selection of the work slated for the exhibition.

I am pleased to announce that I will be curating an art + food exhibition in October at Brenda May Gallery. We are now accepting proposals from professional practicing artists in Australia and New Zealand so please read the exhibition brief below and contact the Gallery with any questions or visit the submissions page for further details.

‘Art + Food – Beyond the Still Life’ – October 2012

This exhibition will consider the representation of food within the visual arts and beyond the standard still life tableaux. The consumption of food is a universally shared experience, enabling people viewing the exhibition to connect with the issues surrounding consumerism, food production and cultural identity.
Proposals for this show must be received by Friday 27 July, 2012.