Janet Fish - New Now & Design Hong Kong Sunday, November 26, 2023 | Phillips

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  • “Colour is light. Colour gets the character of light.” 
    — Janet Fish


    As a realist artist known for making colourful still-life paintings composed of common objects like fruit, flowers, and transparent elements, Janet Fish strays away from a picturesque quality by preserving a sense of movement with her brushwork. Inspired by the 17th century still-lives painted by the Dutch masters, Fish focuses on the effects of light and the energy it provides to the eyes of the viewer. 

     

    Detail of the current lot

     

    In Fujis and Pears, the vivid yellow flowers which resemble garden hardy mums act as the light source in the composition; the rest of the light reflected onto the table, fruits, and various glassware, creating a warm and sunny space that is reminiscent of her childhood times in Bermuda.

     

    During an interview with Ira Goldberg, Fish suggests that she was born into a family of artists in Boston, Massachusetts. She is currently living and working between New York, NY and Middletown Springs, VT. In 1963, she received her MFA at Yale School of Art and studied under Alex Katz. Fish’s paintings are held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. 

    • Provenance

      Robert Miller Gallery, New York
      Private Collection
      Christie's, New York, 15 December 2021, lot 33
      Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

    • Exhibited

      New York, Robert Miller Gallery, Janet Fish, 22 November - 31 December 1980, n.p. (illustrated, n.p.)

27

Fujis and Pears

signed and dated 'JANET FISH 80' lower right
oil on canvas
91.5 x 167.5 cm. (36 x 65 7/8 in.)
Painted in 1980.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$250,000 - 350,000 
€29,500-41,400
$32,100-44,900

Sold for HK$254,000

Contact Specialist

Angela Tian
Associate Specialist, Head of New Now & Design Sale
20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2058
AngelaTian@phillips.com

New Now & Design

Hong Kong Auction 26 November 2023