Farm-to-Table

Allan Stone Projects is pleased to present Farm-to-Table: Epicurean Works From the Allan Stone Collection on view June 22 – August 11, 2017. The exhibition draws from the rich variety of food and food related works that dealer Allan Stone collected throughout his lifetime. Food, still lifes, and animals are common subjects for many artists, providing a glimpse into the earthly pleasures of gastronomy. Whether ironic or sensuous, the works in the exhibition explore the visual delight of food and its related themes.

A highlight of the exhibition is Randall Deihl’s painting, Nick’s Nest, 1981, which relates closely to his painting Sweets, 1980, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Diehl made several works depicting Nick’s Nest, a diner he frequented when he lived in Northampton, Massachusetts at the time. The highly detailed painting shows the humble interior of a restaurant noted for its hot dogs. A popular destination among locals, one can imagine the groups of adults and children gathering in this communal space to break bread.

Another significant work is a rarely seen pastel by Wayne Thiebaud, Slice of Meat, 1972. Here, Thiebaud elevates the single object study into an abstract exercise of color and line. Many of Thiebaud's significant still lifes recall the silhouettes of landscapes, and this raw slab of meat sitting on the cool, reflective counter could be compared to an iceberg. This work illuminates Thiebaud's life long practice of questioning what we see in art by infusing banal objects with an iconic status. 

Other technical masterpieces in the exhibition include Susan Hauptman’s delicately drawn cakes and Don Nice’s meticulous paintings of animals and vegetables. Emily Eveleth’s candid paintings of donuts recall human portraits or bodily flesh, while Derrick Guild’s surreal still lifes are imbued with a sense of uneasiness that defy convention. The exhibition includes other artists such as Gordon Cook, Adrian Martinez, Raoul Middleman, Vladimir Salamun, and others.