William Forrestall

Studio 21 is pleased to announce the exhibition of new work by New Brunswick artist William Forrestall. In these recent works the artist continues to explore the subject of still life, which is “...the most personal of the formal genres of painting” for him. The finite   quality of still life painting has opened a world of infinite exploration for the artist.

These still life’s are ‘out of time’ they hover in a place that is neither real or abstract. Forrestall’s colour palette appears to be monochromatic at a glance, but on the contrary - close inspection reveals otherwise. Bright speckles of red and white intermingle with the dominant colour tone to produce an image that is anything but “still” - his style and medium work together to create these unique paintings that almost “buzz” visually.

Forrestall collects and chooses ordinary objects as his subjects. A collection of vessels on a table, or the form of an egg - whole or broken are often juxtaposed with the  soft organic forms of a flower or fruit. Their arrangement, their state, their execution is so carefully considered by the artist that we too, must also engage in the quiet ‘study’ of still life.

William Forrestall holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Mount Allison University (1982). His work is held in many private, corporate and public collections including the New Brunswick Art Bank and the Canada Council Art Bank. A survey of his work was recently exhibited at the New Brunswick Museum, curated by Peter Larocque (2009).