Pest Control 2019

Scott Fraser made this compelling, humorous, and slightly sinister still life titled ‘Pest Control’ using oil on panel. What gets me first is the way the artist teases out the surface, building it up to a high gloss to make the objects appear more real than real. The interplay of textures is really something else; there’s the smooth, reflective surface of the egg balanced against the matte finish of the toy monster. The monster looks like it was created from a child’s imagination, but it’s been painted so skillfully that it has been rendered plausible somehow. The monster reminds me of the kinds of things you might find in a Philip Guston painting, albeit with a bit more humour. Fraser's playful and precise handling of paint opens up this space for interpretation. It’s that feeling you get when you look at a painting by Morandi, a sense of quiet contemplation that invites you to pause, to reflect, and to find beauty in the unexpected.