White Tulips 1999

Janet Fish's painting gives you everything, all at once, in the most delicious way. I just love the way she orchestrates this still life, from the bananas to the tulips to the wrinkly, crinkly cellophane wrap. There’s so much pleasure in the handling of paint here, the light refracting through different surfaces, the reflections bouncing off the objects – it’s like a painterly dance of perception. It is a kind of looking that is full of touch. I bet she was thinking a lot about Chardin, who was thinking about Dutch still life. The white tulips themselves seem almost incidental. They sit quietly in contrast to the bright yellows and oranges of the fruit. But like the Dutch masters, the tulips are the stars, but their whiteness feels very American! I can almost smell the plastic, the fruit, and the flowers. It makes me want to go to the studio and paint!