Exhibition | Sweet Treats |
Step into a whimsical wonderland where art and confectionery collide at our indulgence-inspired art exhibition. Prepare to be transported to a sugar-coated dreamscape, where ink paintings inspired by Japanese Dorayaki sweets dance alongside conceptual works that playfully mock recipe books. Immerse yourself in a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors that evoke the irresistible allure of confectionery delights, allowing your artistic senses to revel in the enchantment that awaits. Welcome to a realm where art and sweetness intertwine in a delightful symphony of creativity.
Yuki Kato - Best in Show
Dorayaki (Japanese sweets)
Artist Statement:
What can be expressed with just black ink and water?
That is the world I am pursuing.
Surely, everyone have various memories associated with sweets.
This work has a quiet space to reflect the colorful memories of each audience.
Please complete this work in your hearts.
Douglas Newton - Director's Choice
Triad
Artist Statement: My paintings are about color, reflections, texture, transparency, translucency, all the effects of light. Some of my paintings of candy wrappers, ribbons and colored tissue paper verge on abstraction, even though they started with careful observation.
I paint from reality, not using photographs. I paint with oil paint on canvas, which has the flexibility to let me create what I want. It’s slow drying time allows working back into it, wet into wet, my primary way of painting.
I am influenced by Janet Fish and Wayne Theibaud among contemporaries and Spanish and Dutch artists of the 1700s. Other favorites are Chardin, Henri Fantin-Latour and Emil Carlsen.
I have drawn and painted all my life. I’m very happy to be able to paint full time now.
Aidan Frenette - Curator's Choice
5 Cup Salad Surprise
digital photography Canada
Artist Statement: 5 Cup Salad Surprise was born from the inherent comedy of recipe engagement tactics. Recipes from the mid-century include infamously unbelievable, eldritch concoctions like Trout in Aspic1, or Cucumber Souffle Salad2; things that no sensible person would eat. In spite of these recipes being obviously disgusting, someone had to put in the hours behind a camera to make the dishes look appetizing in order to sell cookbooks. Through the use of alternative materials, such as motor oil and instant mashed potatoes, commercial food photographers work magic to create enticing photographs that, in turn, garner recipe engagement. Whether or not the final product is edible is irrelevant.
Today’s recipes differ from the former simplicity of the mid-century in that most authors treat the documentation of their individual creations as a diary. Gone are the days of ingredients followed by instructions; instead, each recipe contains a chapter of required reading about the author’s childhood familial struggles, chock full of anecdotes about overcoming the odds. Perhaps you, too, will escape your father’s wrath if you make these 25 - Minute Best Ever Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. In response to these exercises in rendering a recipe memorable, 5 Cup Surprise Salad painstakingly catalogs my process down to the last inconsequential detail in the form of mandatory instruction that is impossible for anyone other than me to recreate; effectively rendering the recipe useless (but hopefully memorable!).
Kara Bigda - Honorable Mention
Trick or Sweet
watercolor on clay panel United States
Artist Statement: Because our days are busy, filled with the numerous tasks and responsibilities that life requires, it is important to remember to notice and appreciate the little things that bring us peace and joy.
Whether it’s recalling a cherished childhood toy, eating our favorite foods or taking comfort in a quiet corner of home, I aim to celebrate these modest gifts with which life provides us; and in my own way, visually document the beauty of my time in history through watercolor.
