Diego's Compact

Abstract

The John Moores Liverpool exhibition has been the leading platform for the last 50 years for new trends in contemporary British Painting. From 2300 entries 52 paintings were selected for the exhibition in the Walker Art Gallery. The painting 'Diego’s compact' brings together the still-life genre of 17th century Dutch painting with the rigorous methodology of Conceptual artist On Kawara’s systematic approach of documenting time. The source material is an art postcard of a Velasquez painting and a compact. The slow, detailed transformation into a painting places great emphasis on the process of the work. This painting is one of an ongoing investigation into the traditional subject of still life.

Further work from this ongoing investigation was exhibited at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester 7.10.06-7.1.07, together with artists such as Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Wolfgang Tillmanns, Grayson Perry, William Kentridge a.o. "The traditional subject of still-life has a place in the Wonderful Collection in the form of Andreas Rüthi’s knowing compositions, each juxtaposing nick-nacks with postcards representing figures from the canon of 20th century art: Mondrian, Giacometti and Morandi. Rüthi has staged these still-life paintings in a similar way to those of Patrick Caulfield where each carefully chosen item has a meaning and contributes to the overall resonance of the work. Both artists acknowledge the past masters of still-life painting: Chardin, Cézanne and Morandi". (Frances Guy, curator, in Pallant House Gallery Magazine, Number 9, 2006).

John Moores 24: Catalogue: ISBN: 1-902700-30-9