A Fine Balance
Artist
Phyllis Berman
(b. 1951)
Date2004
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions48 x 96 in.
ClassificationsOil Painting
Credit LineGift of Ellen Wineberg
Object number2009.34
DescriptionBerman's most recent project is one devoted to an on-going series of large-scale still life paintings, a motif she has been working on since 1984. Her work is characterized by frontal compositions that balance abstract forms with a crisp technical approach. She paints her works from observations as well as her imagination and aims for representational honesty. When asked about her methods, Berman responded, "every painting is a composite of what I see and what I wish to see." Her style is influenced by the work of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), for she tries to create a pictorial space that is at once static yet charged with the capacity for movement. ":A Fine Balance" depicts two model airplanes, held up by thin string suspended gracefully in the air. The sharp modeling of the forms and the still air filled anticipation of movement make this still life a contemporary approach to the traditional genre.
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