Just some work in progress kind of stuff...

Luigi Benedicenti

            Luigi Benedicenti is an Italian painter born in 1948. His work has been in galleries all over Europe as well as the United States. Benedicenti paints photorealistic oil paintings of mouth watering desserts and meals. They can be considered contemporary still lifes. His work is defined as “Extreme Realism.” His subject matter was once meat and fish but shifted to Italian pastries and sweets. He uses artificial light in order to capture the essence of the subject and evoke how we would feel if we were seeing the physical object. The colors are as close as possible to what the subject’s color actually is. Benedicenti’s skill took years of refinement and practice.

            I love his style because each composition is so minimal yet conveys so much. Who knew a tiny tart cake could look almost seductive? I also love his use of lighting because it allows him to play with the multi-colored reflections on the surface of the shiny pastries. 

Eugene Wang

Eugene Yang was born in China and has received training in art since middle school. He has a master in Education of Fine Art and has taught at schools until he moved to the United States. He has created an oil painting daily of contemporary still life since 2008. These paintings are quite small, no bigger than 11” X 14” canvases. About two thousand of these paintings have been sold all over the world to various collectors. His still life paintings consist of food in an isolated setting. Yang’s goal is to capture lighting and beauty in simplicity of everyday objects he observes.

I find his artwork inspiring because there are such beautiful details in such tiny, simple works. I love how he explores different ways to paint an object. For example, when we think of an orange we think of it whole but he has painted it peeled or sliced in half, creating something more interesting to look at. His use of color in order to create unity between the objects is wonderful. I also love his style too because it isn’t super realistic, it’s more painterly. 

Cindy Wright

Cindy Wright is a Belgian painter born in 1972. She has a Masters in Visual Arts from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Her artwork has been displayed all over the United States and Antwerp, where she currently lives.

Wright’s works are photorealistic paintings, much of it being close ups of animal and human flesh. She makes and photographs these compositions herself. The paintings can be considered modern day vanitas paintings. They force the viewer to observe miniscule details, like each individual crease in the skin, that are normally a blur in everyday life. The objects are isolated, which is an influence from early still life paintings. Her paintings are created at such large scales that in order to understand what is happening in the painting, the viewer must step back. Once the viewer steps close to the piece, it becomes more abstract in that we can only see tiny details and abstract shapes.

Her paintings are realistic with the use of trompe l’oeil but the subject matter is grotesque. I love how they are able to evoke such feelings because it means she achieved a reaction from her viewers. Her style is very inspiring because it lingers between being realistic and being abstract.

Will Cotton's Candyland

Will Cotton was born in 1965 in Massachusetts. He currently lives in New York and received his degree at the New York Academy of Art. His artwork consists of paintings and sculptures of candy and sweets with human subjects. His work is influenced by the Hudson River School, which created paintings in awe of the new frontier of America, and pinup art. He wanted to create landscapes that evoke desire and to create awareness of the consumerism landscape we live in. Cotton believes we are constantly surrounded by a consumerist society that wants us to desire something. His works are influenced by the European idea in literature of the "land of milk and honey." Cotton's work has been featured all over the United States and Europe. One of his most recognizable works in pop culture is the album cover of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. He was also the artistic director for her "California Girls" music video, which incorporated his candy land theme. I find his work very fascinating as it takes you to a fantasy-land, yet incorporates everyday sweets. His sculptures are incredibly beautiful as well and even go along with his theme of pleasure and sweets. The balance in his sculptures creates a tension of the cakes falling over.

Vic Vicini

Vic Vicini is a Michigan painter who considers himself a painter of contemporary still-life. He graduated from Wayne State University with a BFA in Painting and Print Making. His retro paintings capture the realism of everyday objects while still maintaining a painterly style. His paintings capture the nostalgia of his childhood when his father would take him to American diners where breakfast was served for dinner. He paints objects of a hearty breakfast and also paintings of food in the process of being made into a meal. They allow the viewer to appreciate the artistic and beautiful aspect of food. The composition forces the viewer to focus on the subject itself rather than its surroundings. The highlights in the glossy objects are exaggerated. I chose his paintings to research because I love the bright colors and the unique compositions he chooses. I feel like nobody would think twice about painting a bowl of cut up peaches or a bottle of ketchup. He takes ordinary objects and gives them their own beauty.

Tjalf Sparnaay

Self-taught Dutch artist, Tjalf Sparnaay creates mind-blowing photorealistic paintings of food. These paintings are both classical and modern, playful with beauty. He takes ordinary objects and everyday food and paints them on a large scale, excluding them from a particular setting. Isolating the objects allows for the subject to gain a different identity and shift the mood of what we see. Sparnaay states: "my intention is to give these objects a soul, a presence." By taking something that is easily accessible, he wants the viewer to rediscover the essence of something so mundane and turn it into something beautiful. Today he works from his home in the Netherlands and his work is displayed all over the world, which sells up to about 45,000 Euros. I find his work incredibly inspiring. The vibrant colors, large scale, and subject matter are all visually pleasing. I love how he takes ordinary objects and manages to make them appear beautiful and isolated. In some cases the detachment from a setting creates a sense of abandonment, whereas in other cases it allows the viewer to focus on the beauty of the objects instead of what it is actually used for.

Eric Fischl

            Eric Fischl is a painter and sculptor who was born in 1948 and grew up on Long Island in New York. He earned a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts. Afterwards, he moved to Chicago and became a guard at the Museum of Contemporary Art. His early work commented on the unspoken details of everyday American life. This was heavily influenced by his childhood around alcoholism and consumerist culture. His work has been featured all over the US and the world. His later paintings depicted the sexual exploration of adolescence. Fischl founded America: Now and Here. This is an exhibition opened for visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets in order to explore the identity of art within America.

Fischl’s work has a distinct style used with each brushstroke. His ability to easily tell a narrative through simple figures and simple settings is incredible. I love the use of lighting, especially in paintings where light is coming through blinds in a bedroom. Although his series has nothing to do with mine, I hope that I am able to get the point across of my concept just as he has done.