Johnny Izatt-Lowry - A Table, with Things On

'A Table, with Things On' is a series of 12 playful yet sombre still lives representing everyday objects lying on tables. Johnny’s works build on an interest in interactions with familiar subjects and document the quotidian in an almost uncanny way. Despite the simplicity of what the series proposes, there is a sense of the surreal that pervades each piece as the subjects feel poised between our reality and a world of precise, awkward order. The starting point for each image comes from objects from in and around Johnny’s house and studio.

Each familiar subject is so intense and precisely positioned within the brown framing of the table that becomes the sole focus of each piece. An uneasy sense of space and perspective characterizes the works as the viewer seems to watch from above and from in front. These 12 drawings are in conversation with the history of painting, especially the genre of still life. Johnny’s treatment of space, his carefully arranged compositions and colour scheme feel reminiscent of the Northern Renaissance art and also take elements from the tromp l’oeil painting tradition.

Meaning ‘deceive the eye’ in French, this technique was used throughout the centuries to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface. Similarly, in this series there is a focus on the formal qualities of each subject that shows how objects sit within the space. However, there is a contemporaneity in the way in which, for instance, 4 pieces of identical asparagus are laid out in the precise grid of a gingham table cloth. We become aware that each work has been collaged together, often beginning as an assemblage on photoshop. As such, the place of his works in time feels uncertain.