TitleUntitled
Artist
Janet Fish
(American, b. 1938)
Date1973
MediumPastel on paper, mounted on board
DimensionsSheet size: 13 5/8 × 21 1/2 in.
Mat size: 21 3/4 × 28 3/4 in.
Signedsigned and dated lower right
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, Gift of Ashton Hawkins, 1996
Object number1997.1
Label TextJanet Fish is best known for realistic still lifes with reflective and transparent objects, such as plastic wrap, glassware, and mirrored surfaces, which she began to do in the late 1960's. She also uses brand names and typography in her work, which aligns her with pop artists, although she prefers to be referred to as a perceptual realist. She has focused on still life because she believes that "it is the most innovative genre available to painters, allowing the greatest range between realism and abstraction." In the late 60's and early 70's she painted sterile supermarket produce bound under cellophane. These works show the beginnings of her signature style-reflections and play of light.