Blue Decanter, Polka-Dot Bowl, Suzani 2009

Curator: Janet Fish created this vibrant still life, “Blue Decanter, Polka-Dot Bowl, Suzani,” in 2009. The name hints at the eclectic array of objects she brings together. Editor: Woah, total sensory overload! It’s like my grandmother's attic exploded in a rainbow. Not sure where to look first. Is it a joyful riot or a skillfully arranged composition...probably both! Curator: Absolutely, Fish’s paintings revel in this careful balance between observed reality and constructed artifice. She builds on traditions of still life, where the genre served to showcase the material possessions and trade connections of the era. But she pushes it. She includes glass, ceramics, textiles. It’s about playing with these textures, patterns, and colours. Editor: It’s funny; the objects feel intensely familiar – almost kitsch with that Fiestaware-green pitcher – yet elevated by her painterly approach. Is she critiquing or celebrating consumerism here? I can't quite put my finger on it... It is playful, almost aggressively cheerful, wouldn't you say? Curator: Well, I think she is doing both. By painting ordinary domestic objects with such intensity and focus, she forces us to consider their inherent beauty and design. It's almost Pop Art, in its elevation of the mundane, but more tactile, maybe even nostalgic. She shows you how to appreciate something common in everyday life. Editor: Yes, the light refracting through the glass! I find myself captivated by the interplay of those hues, reflecting how objects construct a feeling of a "home" within a painting. All these repeated patterns against the lush suzani – so decadent, so textured... Curator: Precisely. And that brings up a key aspect of Fish's practice – the blurring of boundaries between painting and craft. She uses materials to bring the two realms together to create art and a fresh, contemporary experience. It allows us to reflect upon how these material possessions shape identity. Editor: That makes a lot of sense! I might even brave a trip to my own attic now... thanks for pointing out the magic in the mundane, let me view my surroundings as if looking through an artist's eye.