Art Galleries / STILL LIFE (1982)

There are 15 paintings in the Still Life collection. None has been exhibited previously. Ten are carpet paintings, reflecting the tradition of hanging oriental carpets on the wall.

Orange and green apples on an oriental carpet 123 x 102 cm	Proteas in a mirror vase and in a jug on a glass table" 4' x 5' (sold)	A vase of lilies and a vase of nasturia on kilim 222 x 154 cm	Two pumpkins on kilim 123 x 101 cm
Vase of lilies on kilim 94 x 104 cm	Fruit (orange, satsuma, grapefruit, lemon, lime, green and red apple) on kilim 66 x 87 cm	Vase of yellow lillies on kilim 115 x 111 cm	Two jugs of proteas on oriental carpet 3' x 4' (sold)
Vase of lilies mirrored in dark interior 75 x 101 cm	Vase of lilies mirrored in dark interior 102 x 121 cm	Lemons and onions in front of mirror (sold), 3' x 4'
Oranges on oriental carpet lower left side, 103 x 123 cm	Apples on carpet upper right side 103 x 123 cm	Pineapple on carpet upper left side 103 x 123 cm	Bananas on carpet lower right side 103 x 123 cm

These carpet paintings are a radical development of Matisse's use of a blue tablecloth, a Toile de Jouy, to flatten pictorial space--here by the further imposition of geometrical/abstract patterns, so that the subject matter is absorbed into the carpets.

Throughout the still lifes, a mirror is often used to further complicate pictorial space.

These paintings range from 3’ x 4’ to 5’ x 6’. The last four in the series are meant to read as one painting - one carpet, one in which the edges will never meet.