Kristen Liu Wong
14 x 11 in
Further images
Whenever I make a still life painting, I see it as an opportunity to play around with technical and visual effects and this piece in particular was an exploration and expansion upon the concept of a traditional still life painting. Like a traditional still life painting, there is a vase with flowers and a classical greek bust of Athena (based on an actual head I drew from life while on my visit to Berlin years ago) but instead of the standard nondescript background, I’ve broken up my heavily patterned backdrop with a surreal window that floats and features the nights sky as the table “breaks” through the bottom revealing itself to be a tree emerging from a daytime sky. The titular “Break Up” can be interpreted in various ways- there is the literal breaking of the bust’s and the vase’s forms but then there is also the implied “break up” that has happened between the 2 people in the heart frame, with its shattered glass, surrounded by snake who is poised to strike (perhaps at the disembodied hand that emerges from the vase).
Exhibitions
Be Still, LifeLove Endures
