Still Life with Fruits 

Michel Kikoine made this still life with fruits using oil on canvas. The thick impasto of the paint is really important here. See how the brushstrokes aren’t blended smoothly? They stand up from the canvas, giving a very tangible, almost sculptural quality. The visible brushwork also suggests the speed and energy with which Kikoine approached the task, bearing witness to the artist's hand, and the swiftness of the painterly gestures used to depict this arrangement of luscious fruits. Traditionally, artists would conceal their working process, but Kikoine embraces it. Perhaps this reflects an interest in directness and authenticity, values that run throughout the history of modern art. It is as if Kikoine is saying that the act of painting is as important as the subject. By emphasizing the materiality of his medium, Kikoine elevates the importance of the artistic process, challenging the traditional hierarchy between the "high" art of painting and the "lower" realm of craft. The materials and making are crucial to the artwork's meaning.