Summer Still Life Exhibition

18th July to 9th August 2014

The genre of Still Life has been with us for centuries indeed Caravaggio's still life of a basket of fruit is generally recognised as the first major work of Western still life, painted in 1596. The Tate , rather unenthusiastically describes still life as "anything that does not move or is dead" but , of course there is considerably more to it than that.

Traditionally, some of the objects in a still life were likely to have been selected for their symbolic meaning; cut flowers or a piece of decaying fruit, for instance, symbolise mortality. But a still life painting doesn't have to have symbolism. Cezanne is perhaps the most famous painter of apples simply for the colors, shapes, and perspective possibilities.

With this in mind we have selected a diverse collection of still life painting some of which includes symbolism, some in the style of traditional Dutch masters and some very modern in composition.

Oils , Acrylics , watercolours and mixed media will all be on display so hopefully something for everyone and certainly a diversity of styles that will stimulate debate.