Karen Kulyk

Morandi Still Life with Japanese Objects

I am a fervent admirer of the painter Giorgio Morandi. Not an extensive traveller he chose to define his world through the same windows of his country house and a collection of objects in his Bolognese studio. In his sublime still life works he renders bottles and vases down to pure form, devoid of embellishment and placed so that they overlap or just touch to produce a quiet tension within a fused image.

Inspired by Morandi’s vision I began a series of still life paintings drawing on my collection of Japanese ceramics, Kokeshi, origami, textiles and screens. They present a similar aesthetic of simple shape and decoration to Morandi’s Italian subject matter and by focusing on how they relate to one another and the space surrounding them I could achieve a sensitive harmony that superfluous embellishment would prove a distraction.

The full exhibition is available to view at Wallack Galleries in Ottawa.