Plastic Boxes 2007

Curator: Janet Fish's 2007 oil painting, “Plastic Boxes”, presents a vibrant still life that challenges conventional notions of form and representation. Editor: Whoa, there’s almost too much to take in, isn’t it? A cascade of colors and shapes, all teetering in that delicious space between order and chaos. It’s like looking into a kaleidoscope full of summer afternoon. Curator: Indeed. Fish's masterful handling of light and color transforms these ordinary objects—vases and those skeletal plastic boxes—into studies of refracted luminosity. Notice how the artist uses transparency to layer and fragment the space. Editor: I love that “fragment” idea! It makes me feel like I'm piecing together memories or emotions from all these disparate little worlds colliding in the center. Like snippets of conversation you half-overhear in a café. Are these just mundane boxes or… I dunno… a secret code about seeing differently? Curator: Consider how Fish destabilizes traditional still life composition. The boxes are not merely containers; they serve as structural devices that echo the cubic forms within the flowers, disrupting any clear distinction between inside and outside. This suggests an exploration of the spatial relationships and how objects define themselves in relation to each other. Editor: Exactly! It feels playful, not overly serious. It reminds me of when you rearrange your room just to see what the new arrangement unveils—that unexpected angle that suddenly catches the morning light just so. A reminder that, as an artist, Fish revels in the transience of light, doesn’t she? Capturing that exact fleeting moment, where colors are brightest before time takes them away. Curator: And let us not overlook the subtle dialogue established between the realism suggested by her depiction of the flowers and the Fauvist approach she applies to the boxes and the refracted color. It adds a depth to the artist's method as she explores this interesting dichotomy between nature and representation. Editor: This artwork really hits home for me. Like life, these objects keep shifting their positions and colors. Forever transforming before our eyes, offering infinite interpretations, and constantly inviting fresh stories into being. It truly feels as though something brand new gets revealed upon each viewing. Curator: "Plastic Boxes" by Janet Fish offers not just a visual delight, but an investigation into the dynamic play of form, color, and space, inviting us to examine our own perception of the objects surrounding us. Editor: I see these everyday things re-imagined; each colorful fragment celebrates living artfully, daringly, in the most beautiful way possible.