Beverly Shipko
I am drawn to painting desserts for their enticing textures, shapes, and colors that seduce you with mouth-watering rewards. However, since I can’t eat sweets like I used to, my personal relationship with food and decadent treats has evolved.
Recently I have been experimenting with the juxtaposition of broccoli and other vegetables with sweets in vending machines to stimulate a dialog about how people think about food.
Now I appreciate sweets more as a visual feast for the eyes and the nostalgia these iconic images represent. Often the subjects elicit childhood memories, when life was uncomplicated. They evoke a time in my life when an Oreo Cookie, Hostess Cupcake, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup was the center of my universe.
Initially, I was drawn to painting partially eaten classic desserts, such as cakes, pies and tarts with missing pieces (truly a “slice-of-life” theme), and cookies with bites taken out. Then I branched out to cupcakes, doughnuts, trifles, bakery displays, and vending machines.
My entire collection of small panel paintings from two “30 Paintings in 30 Day Challenges” will be exhibited, including a variety of subjects from classic cars, sunsets, to double yolk eggs, pomegranates – and desserts, of course.
In keeping with tradition, I am sponsoring my annual “Oreo Cookie Contest”. Just come by and take a bite to enter. I look forward to being inspired by this year’s contest entries.
BIO HIGHLIGHTS
GALLERY AFFILIATIONS
Super Fresh Food Art Gallery, Novato, CA 2014 – 2017
Cavalier Galleries, New York, NY, Nantucket, MA, & Greenwich, CT
O.K. Harris Works of Art, New York, NY 2001 – 2014
Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI 2004 – 2014
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Michael Good Gallery, “You CAN Have Your Cake and Eat It Too”, Rockland, ME
Wiregrass Museum of Art, “Great Temptations”, Dothan, Alabama
Jerald Melberg Gallery, “Just Desserts: A Summer Invitational”, Charlotte, NC
O.K. Harris Works of Art, “September Revisited”, New York, NY
O.K. Harris Works of Art, Serial Imagery of Desserts, New York, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Cavalier Galleries, “American Realism: Past to Present”, New York, NY
Super Fresh Food Art Gallery, Novato and Healdsberg, CA
Cavalier Galleries, Summer Group Shows, New York, NY, Nantucket, MA, & Greenwich, CT
The Katonah Museum, “Tri-State Juried Exhibition: Line Describing a Cone”, Katonah, NY
Silvermine Arts Center, “65th Annual Art of the Northeast Exhibition”, New Canaan, CT
Warms Springs Gallery, “Painter’s Table”, Charlottesville, VA
Robert Kidd Gallery, “Sweet Spot”, Birmingham, MI
Galerie LC, “Les Hyperréalistes Américains”, Paris, France
The Hudson River Museum, “I Want Candy: Sweet Stuff in American Art”, Yonkers, NY
Elaine Baker Gallery, Summer Exhibition, Boca Raton, FL
O.K. Harris Works of Art, AAF Contemporary Art Fair, New York, NY
Robert Kidd Gallery, “Dealer’s Choice Exhibition”, Birmingham, MI
M.A. Doran Gallery, “Contemporary American Realism VII”, Tulsa, OK
Jerald Melberg Gallery, “Affordable Art Fair”, New York, NY
Anderson Galleries, “Selected Contemporary Realists”, Beverly Hills, CA
Selected Collections throughout the United States, Europe and Israel.
36 Sheldon St. Ardsley, NY