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• Auction House:
  Webb's
• Sale Name:
  Important Paintings and Contemporary Art
• Sale Date:
  06 Dec 2011 ~ 6.30pm (NZ Time)
• Lot #:
  39
• Lot Description:
  Michael Smither
  Michael Smither, Bowl and Spoon Proffering a clean and empty bowl and a clean spoon to the spectator, Michael Smither's Bowl and Spoon is one
  oil on board
  1670mm x 1210mm
  signed with artist's initials M.D.S. and dated 74 in brushpoint lower left
• References:
  Gribben, Trish. Micheal Smither Painter. Ron Sang Publications, Auckland, 2004, p.147.
• Notes:
  Michael Smither, Bowl and Spoon Proffering a clean and empty bowl and a clean spoon to the spectator, Michael Smither's Bowl and Spoon is one of many paintings which he has completed that feature objects taken from the domestic realm. Seemingly mundane items such as teacups, broken eggshells, coffee pots and rubber gloves are dotted throughout Smither's oeuvre and his decision to accord such everyday things the entire gamut of his canvas causes the viewer to rethink and reappraise both their appearance and their value. Under Smither's brush, these objects come to possess an otherworldly dimension by way of compositional structure, distortions of scale, unusual viewpoints, strong lighting and a smooth polished technique. In Bowl and Spoon, the single focus and close-up viewpoint transforms the banal everyday kitchen items of a breakfast bowl and teaspoon, elevating them into the realm of the rare and celebrated. The slightly upturned angle of the bowl in Bowl and Spoon and the large bulbous shadow that it casts, which extends towards the viewer, create an invitation to enter the painting and take up residence at the table. Yet on the other hand, there is no specifically designated space and, in fact, Smither's tightly controlled composition with its close-up view of china bowl and metal spoon leaves very little inhabitable room. The scene is further distanced from the viewer by Smither's use of abrupt cropping which, combined with the tilted picture plane and the enlarged scale of the bowl and spoon, renders an immediately recognisable and familiar subject, curiously strange and unknown. The sense of immediacy that the cropping produces and the tantalising desire to know what lies beyond the confines of the painting creates a fine and nuanced tension within the work. It is this balance that Smither consistently strikes between the known and unknown, the familiar and the strange, in his still-life paintings that makes them so alluring. Like all of Smither's still-life paintings, the use of domestic objects results in an inferred human presence. While the lack of activity and the exceptional stillness of the painting would seem to preclude any narrative, the work still resounds with anecdotal potential. The gleam of the spoon and the crisp pallor of the bowl suggest that the items remain unused and abandoned on an unidentified surface. The paired pieces are perhaps still patiently awaiting their guest or they may be the remnants of a breakfast that has been discarded due to lack of time or some unforeseen event. In any case, the formal perspicuity of Bowl and Spoon that is wrought through Smither's union of opposites (light and shadow, absence and presence, simplicity and convolution) results in a captivating painting. Frozen in time, Smither's Bowl and Spoon maintains its immaculate and unsullied appearance, offering an enticing diorama, which allows for each viewer to weave their own story. JEMMA FIELD
• Estimate:
  NZ$60,000 - 90,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.