Catenary Kiss 

Scott Fraser’s painting, "Catenary Kiss," uses oil on linen to meticulously render a scattering of Hershey's Kisses. Fraser’s choice of subject matter elevates the everyday. Oil paint, with its capacity for rich detail and luminous effects, is traditionally associated with high art. Here, it's applied to a humble, mass-produced chocolate. The realism deceives us into thinking it is something simple. But think about what painting actually involves: the slow accretion of detail, building up form and capturing light. Fraser's craft and the many hours involved serve to remind us of the labor, and resources required to make a painting, in contrast to the quick turnover and high consumption, of mass-produced chocolate. This interplay between the high craft of painting and the mass-produced subject matter encourages us to think about value – both in art and in everyday life. It collapses the boundary between fine art and the mundane objects of consumer culture.