Country:
Venue:
Categories:
The exhibition features 23 still life photographs alongside 9 Old Masters by renowned historical artists
including Luis Edigio Meléndez (1716-1780), Juan van der Hamen y León (1596-1631), Giacomo Ceruti
(1698-1767) and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (1587-1625). The photographs include two new compositions
by Paulette Tavormina created specifically for this show and inspired by Trompe L’oeil paintings, as well
as two recent works shown in Europe for the first time. It will also include a selection of works featured
in the artist’s monograph (Paulette Tavormina: Seizing Beauty, The Monacelli Press, 2016 – (review
copies available on request)).
Paulette Tavormina: “It was such a dream to have held an exhibition at Colnaghi in London last year
and I’m thrilled to be able to continue the journey with a show at Coll & Cortés in Madrid. It’s an honor
to have my photographs featured alongside paintings from the gallery’s esteemed collection of Old
Masters and to see them hanging alongside many of the great masters who inspire my work. I have
always hoped my photographs would affect someone as deeply as the Old Master paintings have
affected me. To have the works in conversation is the realization of my greatest artistic aspiration. I’m
particularly excited to be showing two new photographs for the first time having created them for this
show. They are from my new ‘Trompe L’oeil’ series, and they hold a special resonance as I’ve always
wanted to photograph images such as these having been a collector of curiosities since I was young. It
is also exciting to be showing for the first time in Europe two recent works from my ‘Flowers, Fish, Bird
and Fantasies’ series.”
Nicolas Cortés, CEO of Coll and Cortés: “We’re delighted to be working with Paulette again after the
success of the show at Colnaghi in London last summer. Still lifes are perhaps the most timeless works
of art so it’s been a really fascinating process working with such an insightful contemporary artist in
selecting works for this exhibition from the last 400 years. We’re looking very forward to welcoming
visitors to the gallery to enjoy what promises to be a really special show.”
Paulette Tavormina lives and works in New York City. Amidst the bustle that defines the city, she can often be found at one of the city’s many
farmers markets searching for the perfectly imperfect flora that characterize her photographs. Her arrangements often recall the sumptuous
detail of seventeenth century Old Master still life painters and serve as intensely personal interpretations of timeless, universal stories. With a
painterly perspective reminiscent of Francisco de Zurbarán, Adriaen Coorte and Giovanna Garzoni, Tavormina creates worldly still lives. She
was awarded the Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant in 2016. Her monograph book, Paulette Tavormina: Seizing Beauty was published by The
Monacelli Press, 2016 and reviewed by The New York Times and Architectural Digest. Tavormina’s photographs are in museum, corporate and
private collections and have been exhibited in Paris, London, Moscow, Lugano, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Palm Beach, Boston, Palm
Desert and San Francisco. Tavormina also works as a commercial photographer - she has photographed works of art for Sotheby’s,
collaborated with The Fabulous Beekman Boys on their three heirloom cookbooks and photographed The Del Posto Cookbook with chef Mark
Ladner, published by Hachette. She has been commissioned by National Geographic Magazine and The New York Times among others.
Previously, Tavormina was a prop and food stylist in Hollywood, her work seen on the silver screen in seven films such as Nixon, The Astronaut's
Wife and The Perfect Storm.
Coll & Cortés, Justiniano, 3, 28004 Madrid, Spain
