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拍品專文
Evoking a feeling of hazy nostalgia, four different colorful sticks of candy—one green, one yellow, one red and one pink—are organized on a round, white plate set on a pink and cream surface, possibly the Formica-topped counter of a candy store. The subject of this charming work, suffused with gentle humor and a joy of life, is just as the title succinctly puts it: bright candy sticks, decorated with multicolored swirls and patterns. Works such as this demonstrate Wayne Thiebaud’s unparalleled ability to conjure up a bygone era of old fashioned penny-candy shops recalled directly from the artist’s own childhood memories. Interestingly, the artist signed this canvas in three places “♥ Thiebaud,” which seems especially appropriate for this subject.
The candy sticks extend past the outward curve of the plate, creating engaging, intersecting alignments, and dividing the plate into multiple semi-curves and triangles. Two horizontal rectangles, one at the lower edge of the canvas, one toward the upper quadrant, define the space where the candy sits. Whirls and figures of oil paint form the lines and shapes of each stick of candy while brushstrokes define the pattern of the plate they sit upon. Brush marks and layers of paint define the entire surface of the canvas as Thiebaud revels in the materiality of paint and invites the viewer to do so as well.
Thiebaud builds contrast by painting stripes of alternating hue along the bottom edge of the plate. Blue shadows separate the plate from the surface of the counter, lending depth. By painting contrasting colors around the edges of objects, the artist enhances the subjective impression his objects convey, suggesting lively vitality rather than merely a copy of reality. The shadows here are actually areas of color, not empty black but in fact diversely hued and textured spaces of light.
The theme depicted here is a classic one for Thiebaud and one seen throughout his work: the simple and irresistible foods and treats he remembers from his childhood, enjoyed here not for their flavor but for their visual qualities of shape, color, line and texture. This particular subject seems almost made-to-order for the luscious qualities of the oil medium Thiebaud used to paint this canvas.
Four Candy Sticks shows us a neatly arranged row of similarly shaped, but not-exactly-the-same, objects. It’s an approach that Thiebaud returns to again and again—repetition of forms as a way to study relationships, to explore variation and difference-within-similarity. He is fascinated with working through visual challenges of similarity and difference and with the problem of how to portray these qualities within the same pictorial space.
A sumptuous handling of oil paint, a deliberately minimal, spare composition, and a focus on everyday items are signature qualities of Thiebaud’s work showcased superbly in this late-career composition. All across the canvas surface is the thick impasto, the wonderful cake frosting-like application of paint that distinguishes Thiebaud’s style, rich with luscious swirls, swipes, and layers of liquid paint. The present work is of course a view into a scene, but it is also a painterly surface alive with brushwork.
Four Candy Sticks delights the viewer through its dual nature as both realistic depiction of its subject and as abstract play of geometric forms. The perspective is aerial, a point-of-view that lets Thiebaud leave out every extraneous detail of the environment, letting the viewer focus on the geometries of the elements that are before us—the play of circles, straight lines, diagonals.
The spare, almost minimal composition dramatically reduces the subject to a play of colors, lines and surfaces. Thiebaud indulges his love of color across a surface alive with an entrancing range of hues.
The work is also an opportunity for Thiebaud to explore the historic tradition of the still-life. Often associated with Pop Art because of his choice of subject matter (a suggestion which the artist himself often rejected), he was more interested in exploring the possibilities of the still-life genre, looking for inspiration in mentors who worked earlier in the 20th century and before, even as Thiebaud himself depicted the contemporary world around him. One influence was the Italian painter Girogio Morandi, who specialized in painting simple objects portrayed in subtle, understated tonalities. Morandi’s influence is evident in Thiebaud’s preference for simplicity, understatement, and the exploration of the possibilities of the medium of paint.
One of the most enduring figurative painters of the postwar period, for over seven decades Wayne Thiebaud has captivated critics and viewers alike with his extraordinary ability to capture the essence of the objects he depicts in lusciously rendered oil paint. His ability to uplift and transform everyday subject matter has helped to revive what had previously been the staid genre of still life before Thiebaud took hold of it in beginning in the early 1960s.
The candy sticks extend past the outward curve of the plate, creating engaging, intersecting alignments, and dividing the plate into multiple semi-curves and triangles. Two horizontal rectangles, one at the lower edge of the canvas, one toward the upper quadrant, define the space where the candy sits. Whirls and figures of oil paint form the lines and shapes of each stick of candy while brushstrokes define the pattern of the plate they sit upon. Brush marks and layers of paint define the entire surface of the canvas as Thiebaud revels in the materiality of paint and invites the viewer to do so as well.
Thiebaud builds contrast by painting stripes of alternating hue along the bottom edge of the plate. Blue shadows separate the plate from the surface of the counter, lending depth. By painting contrasting colors around the edges of objects, the artist enhances the subjective impression his objects convey, suggesting lively vitality rather than merely a copy of reality. The shadows here are actually areas of color, not empty black but in fact diversely hued and textured spaces of light.
The theme depicted here is a classic one for Thiebaud and one seen throughout his work: the simple and irresistible foods and treats he remembers from his childhood, enjoyed here not for their flavor but for their visual qualities of shape, color, line and texture. This particular subject seems almost made-to-order for the luscious qualities of the oil medium Thiebaud used to paint this canvas.
Four Candy Sticks shows us a neatly arranged row of similarly shaped, but not-exactly-the-same, objects. It’s an approach that Thiebaud returns to again and again—repetition of forms as a way to study relationships, to explore variation and difference-within-similarity. He is fascinated with working through visual challenges of similarity and difference and with the problem of how to portray these qualities within the same pictorial space.
A sumptuous handling of oil paint, a deliberately minimal, spare composition, and a focus on everyday items are signature qualities of Thiebaud’s work showcased superbly in this late-career composition. All across the canvas surface is the thick impasto, the wonderful cake frosting-like application of paint that distinguishes Thiebaud’s style, rich with luscious swirls, swipes, and layers of liquid paint. The present work is of course a view into a scene, but it is also a painterly surface alive with brushwork.
Four Candy Sticks delights the viewer through its dual nature as both realistic depiction of its subject and as abstract play of geometric forms. The perspective is aerial, a point-of-view that lets Thiebaud leave out every extraneous detail of the environment, letting the viewer focus on the geometries of the elements that are before us—the play of circles, straight lines, diagonals.
The spare, almost minimal composition dramatically reduces the subject to a play of colors, lines and surfaces. Thiebaud indulges his love of color across a surface alive with an entrancing range of hues.
The work is also an opportunity for Thiebaud to explore the historic tradition of the still-life. Often associated with Pop Art because of his choice of subject matter (a suggestion which the artist himself often rejected), he was more interested in exploring the possibilities of the still-life genre, looking for inspiration in mentors who worked earlier in the 20th century and before, even as Thiebaud himself depicted the contemporary world around him. One influence was the Italian painter Girogio Morandi, who specialized in painting simple objects portrayed in subtle, understated tonalities. Morandi’s influence is evident in Thiebaud’s preference for simplicity, understatement, and the exploration of the possibilities of the medium of paint.
One of the most enduring figurative painters of the postwar period, for over seven decades Wayne Thiebaud has captivated critics and viewers alike with his extraordinary ability to capture the essence of the objects he depicts in lusciously rendered oil paint. His ability to uplift and transform everyday subject matter has helped to revive what had previously been the staid genre of still life before Thiebaud took hold of it in beginning in the early 1960s.