Relish 1990

Ralph Goings made this photo-realist painting, called Relish, of everyday objects with precision and care. It’s not about being messy, but about order. There's an almost clinical detachment from his subject matter. Think about what it must have been like to make this, and how much looking was involved. It’s like he’s saying, “I’m going to empty out the feeling and just look.” The lighting gives everything a clean, even tone. You can see every detail from the salt grains in the shaker to the different sugar packets. The color palette is very controlled – reds, whites, and greens against a dark background. It’s as if Goings wants to capture these objects in their purest form. This reminds me of other realist painters like Gerhard Richter or even some of the early Pop artists. There’s something comforting in the everyday, but also something a little unsettling in its hyper-realism. What do you think?