Meal Paintings and A Curatorial Effort

Paul Gauguin, 1891, A Meal of Bananas

Duccio di Boninsegna, 1311, The Last Supper

Felix Valloton, 1899, Dinner in the Lamplight

Joan Brown, 1963, Noel at the Table with a Large Bowl of Fruit

Antonio Lopez Garcia, 1971-80, La Cena

Fairfield Porter, 1950, John, Richard and Laurence

Jean Cooke, 1954, Portrait of John Bratby

I have had a deep and unwavering love for paintings of food and the meal since I can remember.  It has always found its way into my own work as a theme and is where many of my all time favorite paintings reside.  There is something psychological in the best meal paintings that bumps up against the matter of fact specifics of the things on the table.  Above are some of the paintings I have loved for many years.

I'd had the idea to put together a show of contemporary artists working with this sub-genre of still life (which on its own is underrepresented I think) but never really thought it would come to pass.  But I agreed to be a part of a voluntary curatorial board at the University City Arts League for the year and to my surprise this idea was voted as one of the annual exhibitions.  I'm working on it with a friend and fellow member, Adam Lovitz (painter and enthusiast of food painting himself)

So this October 21st, Baked Goods, a show with 13 visual artists and 4 performance artists will open there, 4226 Spruce Street.  The list of artists is fantastic, I can't wait to share more details.  For now mark the calendar, I'll put up further info in weeks to come.