empty vessel (tree guards)

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CreatorAngus NivisonTitleempty vessel (tree guards)Date2011MediumAcrylic and charcoal on canvasDimensionsH. 120cm x W. 130cmArtist StatementWhen I think about three of my favourite painters Vermeer, Chardin and Morandi I am taken back to a particular feeling that creeps over me when viewing great art. Time seems to slow down, the hustle and bustle of the gallery I am in dims, and those around me disappear. It is just the work and I. It is as though time itself has stopped.

So there it is whilst viewing, say, Vermeer's "Girl in a Turban," or Chardin's "Girl with Shuttlecock," or perhaps "Still Life (V)" by Morandi, time grinds to a halt. The light becomes golden (perhaps a trick of the painter), heavy with nostalgia, laden with inner thoughts. What has she seen? What is the girl thinking? Why are those bottles and jar huddling so close together, they seem to be whispering. Wait, I hear you say! Two of those paintings (Vermeer and Chardin's) are not Still Lifes but rather, Genre.

For me though, all great paintings to a lesser or greater degree are in effect, Still Lifes. These three paintings are sublimely and deceptively simple, both in subject and technique. All carry a mystery, a hidden meaning. Every time I view these works I see them afresh, they are timeless and hold me spellbound. I never tire of them; they take me back to that place where time stalls, where thoughts and meditation prevail.

Humanity, that is to say, what makes us human, this is where my thoughts are taken. All good art does this, it makes us stop and give it time. When we do this, all is still and thoughts reign free. This is a moment of introspection, of meditation. We begin the journey of reflecting our destiny, our raison d'etre; the trivialities of everyday life recede.

With "Empty Vessels" the eye is presented with an almost empty canvass [sic]. There is the presence of light and perhaps mist or clouds and two empty tree guards, nothing else. You can see the drips that cling somewhat tenuously to the unprimed canvass [sic], the hesitation of the loaded brush, the brittle line of the charcoal through the grey void, the absence of the planted tree, the "Empty Vessel". This is a simple painting. Yet there is something else happening, the presence of absence, and the futility of endeavour. Even though the trees have died, they and the hand that planted lingers. I start to think of what has been, of what may have been, of mortality, of friends that are no longer with me, of past love. Suddenly that golden light of reflection and nostalgia holds me, I am beginning to think about what it is to be human. I am skirting around melancholia.

So, there you have it. Still Life and the EMSLA Award are not just about objects. Far from it, they are about what makes us human; you could say that Still Life is still, about life.Accession Number018.2018Access AdviceFor research purposes only. No reproduction without permission of Yarrila Arts and Museum.

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Description

Still-life painting, acrylic and charcoal on canvas.

AgencyYarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)CollectionYAM Gallery CollectionSub-CollectionStill LifeExhibition HistoryStill Life, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery CollectionEMSLA 2011

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LexiconPaintingGeneral NamePainting

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