Opus Art

Chris Kettle

(7 Feb 2008 - 3 Mar 2008)

Still life is Chris Kettle's subject but don't expect a traditional serving. Kettle's distinctive, often brooding work engages the viewer and presents a variety of sentiments that are both touching and thought provoking in a way that still life doesn't usually engage. Kettle himself articulates his approach to work thus, 'Still Life has been around for centuries but is often overlooked as it often deals with pure study or measured painting of form. I am interested in presenting paintings that somehow convey human emotion, or 'Animism' - the attribution of a living soul onto an inanimate object.' The artist includes 17th century Dutch and Flemish painters in his sources of inspiration; Kettle is interested in exploring how the paintings of these Old Masters could relate to our 21st century concerns - such as guilt about environmental issues.

The artist concludes, 'Overall, my painting has always been concerned with the human condition, with all its absurdity, pain and humour, raising fundamental questions, if obliquely, through the genre of Still Life.'

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