Abstracts, Cocktails, & Still Lifes

Most of my still lives derive from my terrasse–living in or living out. Wine and food, a set table and OMG don't forget the bread. Chairs and the curated space. A celebration of domesticity and relationship.

- James Michalopoulos

A central tenet to Michalopoulos’ approach is to always remain open. As a result, his paintings explore an endless range of subject matters: martini glasses adrift in the cosmos; Charley Chimp, the cymbal-playing monkey; and a series featuring toy clowns at leisure and play.

He returns on occasion to the more traditional subject of the still life, which was identified by Edouard Manet as “the touchstone of painting.” But even with this body of work he provides his own contemporary American interpretation by inserting hamburgers and other unexpected objects into the tableau. We are reminded to expect the unexpected.

-Caroline Kerrigan, Curator