MEMENTO

Janet Clayton Gallery

December 3-29, 2014

In her new work Deborah Beck explores what it is that draws us to particular objects - what makes us feel the need to take mementos home with us, and put them on display in the rooms of our houses. In some cases it is because there is a memory of a particular person or history attached to the object, the memory of a place we have been, a culture we admire, or a shape that touches a cord for some reason. Once on our shelves, they become a part of the visual pattern of our lives and something that we look at every day.

Deborah Beck has selected examples of still life objects that surround her or that she has seen on her travels. Some have resided in museums around the world for many years. On viewing the objects on display there has been some connection - one that has made her want to draw or photograph the object and bring the image home with her. In this regard it is an intimate exhibition. The images become a type of diary of personal items and places, in which each object has its own story and relationship with the artist.

The titles link the objects to the sites they came from or were seen, but in the paintings they are placed in an ambiguous space where at times the vessel seems to merge or disappear into the background.