19 February - 14 May 2017
Nature Morte: Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still Life is a MOCA London touring exhibition based on Michael Petry's recent book with the same title for Thames & Hudson. It brings together historic still-life paintings and contemporary artworks that seek to use the language of the past for modern concerns. The show seeks to illustrate how leading artists of the 21st century are reinvigorating the still life, a genre previously synonymous with the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Old Masters.
A core of contemporary pieces will travel to all the tour locations. In each venue, historic works borrowed from local museums which will compliment those that form the spine of the exhibition. Additionally, regional artists who are working with the theme will be included in each venue.
The show will exhibit works from the traditional topics of the still-life: flora, fauna, the domestic object, food and vanitas. The exhibition explores the timeless themes of life, death and the irrevocable passing of time in these new works for our modern world; artworks that invite us to pause and reconsider what it means to be human.
Curators and Artists talk:
19 February at 12 pm