Kalin Gregg

Antiques possess a special ability to resurrect long-forgotten lives. As I comb through Goodwill, I can see the history of people I’ll never meet. It might be a well-loved set of chipped china or a set so pristine it has never seen the light of day. Even a wedding gown, perfectly boxed and preserved or my mother’s dress that once held a cake topper and is covered in new appliques to hide the stains so that it could be worn again. Each item I find and collect has seen a life of its own, it has been loved, distressed, broken, full of all the sentiments that embody the human experience.

Food possesses a similar effect for me, triggering individual memories. As I assemble each still life the food comes last. It is meticulously chosen yet placed in disheveled manner. The food rarely remains untouched, as if someone has gotten up in the middle of the meal and left it behind. This presents it as a remnant of a moment that has come and gone, giving the viewer room to create their own story. As I paint there is a lack of human presence in my work. Food becomes the stand in for human relationships. With its impermanent state, the food serves a purpose, but will eventually degrade. These kinds of relationships are a part of the human existence, the ones that come and go. Meanwhile, the most cherished relationships are the ones that never degrade. Comparable to the antiquities which are the most valuable in their mint condition, created to withstand the test of time and remaining untarnished by the lives that they have lived.

I find myself in these paintings as I’m working. Having new experiences in my own life as I work has filled each of these pieces with an extensive amount of passion and dedication that is unique to me. Each item rendered with meticulous detail is a moment in my own life I can recall. Whether it was a late night on the phone laughing as I work or the end of a horrible day, where getting the fork just right was what I needed. As my own timeline continues, so do the lives of these objects, permanently memorialized with the importance they truly possess. The amalgamation of food and antiquities in my work creates a unifying force that finds a way to form a universal connection that I hope everyone can feel.