NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MILES McENERY GALLERY is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent paintings by Robert Russell. The artist’s inaugural exhibition at the gallery will open on 3 February at 520 West 21st Street and remain on view through 12 March 2022. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated digital catalogue featuring an essay by Naomi Lev.

“Still life will become, above all, alive. Like life itself, it will always have something new to tell you, some marvel to highlight, some mystery to reveal.” – Marcel Proust. Russell’s paintings of teacups are enchanting, vibrant, elegant, and charismatic. He depicts fragility with such precision that one can envision their grandmother’s cupboard, the chimes of porcelain clinking in anticipation for a special occasion, and a tea kettle whistling away in the kitchen of a loved one’s home. Meticulously detailed single flowers with accompanying floral patterns and designs take shape in the larger than life teacups and saucers. His process begins with absorbing loads of visual information and gathering images of relics from eBay and online estate sales. Set against deep black backgrounds as seen in many Dutch and Spanish Baroque still lifes, he elevates and monumentalizes the diminutive and delicate objects into pieces of grandeur and adoration.

The artist splendidly enhances the colors, brightness, and light of the source image. The six large scale paintings invite close, deliberate examination from the spectator. “When viewed from a distance, the teacups look three dimensional and exuberant, but as we zoom in and physically approach them, other qualities are revealed. Then, smooth brushstrokes blend with more expressive ones, and the parts of the form that seemed so realistic, become obscure and layered,” Naomi Lev reveals.

The history of painting and the importance of material are constants in Russell’s oeuvre. He describes the universal mystery of the painting process as “a ritualistic practice and an act of faith” until the object in the painting finally reveals itself “in some kind of a magical way.” These lustrous teacups function as modern day Vanitas or memento moris to remind us of the fragility and wondrousness of human existence. The vividness and richness of the objects represent the abundance of a delicate life and remind the viewer to live gently and affectionately.