Walnut Creek’s Bedford Gallery recently opened its newest exhibit, “Observations of a Still Life,” which showcases the enduring relevance of still-life images in today’s fast-paced, media-saturated world.
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Featuring 22 artists working across a range of media (from ceramics and photography to oil painting) the group show explores how contemporary artists reinterpret a genre historically associated with quiet domesticity and the Dutch Golden Age. Curated by Emilee Enders, the exhibit aims to slow viewers down and invite them to examine moments of beauty and meaning in ordinary things.
“I wanted to bring the conversation into the present and explore how these artists are influenced by modernity,” Enders said. “We’re constantly overwhelmed by the stream of stimuli in our lives, so I wanted to create a space where visitors can focus solely on a single tableau created by human hands.”
While traditional still-life images once featured bowls of fruit or vases with flowers, the works in “Observations of a Still Life” reflect the complexities of contemporary culture. Artists transform mundane objects into symbols of desire, identity, humor and critique, prompting viewers to question what they value and how they see.
San Francisco-based artist Annie Duncan uses larger-than-life ceramic sculptures to explore femininity and the power of everyday objects. Her pieces, such as “2 Razors” reimagine household items associated with the female body — such as perfume bottles, razors and other personal effects — as vessels of self-realization and bodily autonomy. Duncan’s process involves shaping and firing hand-built clay slabs, then glazing and painting them with a trompe l’oeil effect that blurs the boundaries between painting, sculpture and pop culture.
“I use common objects tied to the female body to explore themes like desire and self-realization,” Duncan said. “Through distortion and surface treatment, I reference traditional still-life, cartoons and the aesthetics of digital consumer culture.”
Toronto-based artist Megan Ellen Macdonald also reinterprets the still-life through a distinctly modern lens. Working in oil on canvas, she uses 3D modeling software to design her compositions before translating them into physical paintings, introducing what she calls “an uncanny gap between the virtual and the tangible.”
“My process mirrors how our perception of beauty and reality is constantly mediated through screens and filters,” Macdonald said. “That tension between the artificial and the organic becomes part of the emotional fabric of the work.”
Macdonald’s paintings, often laced with humor and irony, engage viewers in a conversation about sincerity, taste and cultural obsession. Her piece “Deflated” uses camp and kitsch as a visual language to critique consumerism while keeping the tone playful.
“Humor can act as a great entry point for viewers,” Macdonald said. “It allows artists to critique or exaggerate without alienating the audience. My work leans into camp and the absurd … not to make light of serious themes, but to show how the line between sincerity and irony is often blurred.”
For curator Enders, that mix of seriousness and levity is part of what makes the show vital to this moment.
“Artists are visual historians,” she said. “By nature, their works reflect the cultural and emotional landscape of our time. In ‘Observations,’ we’re confronted with consumerism, identity politics, environmentalism and race — but also humor and beauty, which we desperately need right now.”
The exhibit challenges the notion that still-life is quiet or static. Instead, it becomes a dynamic mirror of human experience — how we interact with things and what those interactions reveal about us. Enders said that many of the works include “Easter eggs” of meaning that reward careful observation.
“I hope visitors start to notice how intricate, intentional and personal these works are,” she said. “There’s so much to discover, but you have to really look.”
For Macdonald, that act of looking is at the heart of still-life and contemporary life.
“I hope viewers leave questioning their own definitions of beauty and taste,” she said. “These works ask how we look, what we value and how meaning evolves through the act of seeing.”
Enders also emphasized accessibility as a core value of the gallery.
“People should see the show to expand their understanding of still-life and support a healthy creative community in the Bay (Area),” she said. “Plus, our admission model is ‘Pay What You Can.’ ”
Bedford will also host a “Cocktails + Conversation” event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Nov. 6, featuring a curator-led tour and refreshments from Walnut Creek Italian restaurant Montesacro. With its combination of traditional techniques and contemporary insight, “Observations of a Still Life” invites visitors to slow down, look closer and find resonance in the everyday.
Participating artists also include Sally Baker, Sabrina Bockler, Nicholas Bono Kennedy, Leeza Doreian, Angela Fang Zirbes, Mary Finlayson, Casey Gray, Jane Hambleton, John Herschend, Natalia Juncadella, Robert Minervini, Stephen Morrison, Mischelle Moy, Donna Moylan, Vik Muniz, Tucker Nichols, Richard Shaw, Paul Wackers, Bill Ward and Griff Williams.
“Observations of a Still Life” will be on display through Dec. 14. For exhibit tickets or information online, visit bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/current-season/observations-of-a-still-life.
Reach Charleen Earley, a freelance writer and journalism professor at Diablo Valley college, at [email protected] or 925-383-3072.
