Bees and Iridescent Bubbles Infiltrate Still-Life Traditions in Paintings, the opulent paintings were steeped in symbolism and foregrounded the futility of ambition and worldly pleasures.

▏Bees and Iridescent Bubbles

1)  During the Dutch Golden Age, vanitas grew in popularity as a genre of memento mori that emphasized life’s transience. Bees and Iridescent Bubbles Infiltrate Still-Life Traditions in Paintings, the opulent paintings were steeped in symbolism and foregrounded the futility of ambition and worldly pleasures.

Marc Dennis draws on this 17th-century tradition as he refashions the still life for a contemporary audience. In a recent oil painting, “Happily Ever After,” hordes of honeybees and hornets descend on a lush bouquet. Kaleidoscopic bubbles float across the five-foot canvas, reflecting the surrounding colors and distorting clear viewers of nearby flowers and fruit.

▏Fleeting Imagery

2) The insects and glossy orbs add another layer of impermanence to the already fleeting imagery, while also reflecting on the tenuous relationship between the organic and human-made. Similar tensions appear in “Allegory of the Readymade,” which suffocates and warps a seemingly vibrant painting with thick layers of plastic wrap. Each of the works clings to a brief moment in time, capturing both life at its prime and serving as a bold reminder of its inevitable end.

Dennis’ paintings are on view in I’m Happy You’re Here through March 1 at Harper’s Gallery in New York.

▏kanikachic

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