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Fiori del
Giardino, a new exhibition by photographer Paulette
Tavormina, explores still life compositions,
reflective of European old master paintings, as
contemporary photographs. Last Saturday in Chelsea at
Winston Wächter Fine Art, Sotheby’s old master paintings
specialist David Pollack and photo historian Gail
Buckland, joined Paulette the gallerys director, Madeline
Cornell for a conversation on Modern Still Life
Photography: A Tribute to the Old Masters. These
photographs capture "theatrically lit flora, fauna, and
foods", said Madeline as she opened the discussion.
"Inspired by the Golden Age of still life paintings,
Paulette often works against the clock with handpicked
flowers and fruit from her garden to immortalize every
intricate detail of a perfect moment in time."
David
offered, "The continuum of what we call 'old masters'
really starts in 1250 - 1280, but the proper genre of
independent still life is relatively new and begins
around 1600. The entire Italian renaissance had already
taken place before artists really started to paint
flowers and objects, so it was always considered, even
in its own time, a modern invention. What has always
made still life paintings so desirable and sought after
is their ability to capture reality in an incredible
way. These were photographs of their time. The ability
for artists to render a piece of cheese or a fire tulip
with such exact detail is what has always entranced the
viewer. That extends to Paulette's work, which has such
technical precision. I see it as a continuum of what has
always been a modern and technically driven genre."
Paulette shared her process, how she collects props,
creates compositions, and arranges lighting, "It can
take days. It takes a lot to gather and then to marry
everything together and make sure it's all cohesive"
Gail added, "The great effort and the length of time
that goes into taking a photograph. With us all having
phones with cameras we lose sight of the real history of
photography, which has to do with light and a focus on
how light illuminates the world, how light can be
captured, and also time. The world doesn't organize
itself. A painter starts with an empty canvas and
decides what to paint, a photographer starts with the
whole world and has to put a frame around it. The world
doesn't always cooperate."
Paulette spoke of her still life origins, sharing "I
used to visit my dear friend Sarah McCarty, a painter,
in Santa Fe New Mexico. She had an English garden with
lemons and quince. In her studio I fell in love. From
then on everywhere I went, in Europe or America, I would
go to museums and seek out still life artwork. What I
love about still life is their dramatic lighting, color
palette, and unique compositions. I became infatuated."
Guests included Benjamin Dollar, Han Feng,
Sarah Frank, Michele Gerber Klein, Nelsa Gidney, Alicia
Lubowski-Jahn, Fritz Michel, Rina Oh, Liz Anne
Potamianos, Renee Price, and Barbara Tober.
The conversation is available to stream at www.paulettetavormina.com/videos. Fiori
del Giardino is on view at Winston Wächter Fine Art
until January 6, 2023.
For more information, visit www.newyork.winstonwachter.com/exhibitions/paulette-tavormina-fiori-del-giardino/.
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