Modern artists have now freed themselves from the ‘containing’ tyranny of trompe l’oeil illusionism and the need to present the image of the material world behind a veil of appearances that plagued the role of previous still life painting. No longer is the meaning of the still life picture solely contained in its mimetic relationship with its outside subject; but rather, is to be found in the imaginative and aesthetic experience that the artist expresses and conveys to the viewer in the language and specific requirements of painting itself. This idea was succinctly expressed by one of the greatest painters of modern still life – the late Craigie Aitchison, when he explained to one of his interviewers, ‘I do invent things if I have to … but they would have to be taken out if they weren’t right.’ Being a superb master of the art of modern still life, Craigie Aitchison nearly always got it ‘right’ – that is when he, the artist, found the moment where he could fully identify with his painterly interpretation of his still life subject. I hope, in their own individual way, this is also the case with most of the very varied examples of Scottish modern still life painting in this exhibition.

Bill Hare, January, 2010

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