Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Douglas Newton
Apples and Glass, super real, illustionistic, colorful contemporary still life

2016

$900
£684.41
€789.43
CA$1,260.74
A$1,411.01
CHF 736.77
MX$17,214.43
NOK 9,352.31
SEK 8,874.77
DKK 5,895.12
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Oil paint on canvas Doug Newton’s hyper-real paintings observe reality, explore translucency, reflections and luminosity, and dazzle the viewer with all the ways light can transform our perceptions. His subject matter concentrates on still lives of food, toys, candy and household objects. In addition to many group shows across the country, Mr. Newton’s show, “HARD CANDY and other confections” represents his fifth solo exhibition. His paintings have been collected in numerous private collections. Mr. Newton resides in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Sonia Coman writes in her essay, Doug Newton’s hard candy: the confection of painting Doug Newton’s paintings are about… painting. The hyperrealist technique of trompe l’oeil or “trick the eye” is knowingly playful. It simultaneously calls attention to the illusion of a different material—for example, translucent candy wrappers—and the reality of the layers of paint, masterfully applied to the canvas. In that, Newton’s paintings pay homage to an esteemed series of trompe l’oeil masters, from Inquisition-era Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán to Gilded-Age American painter William Michael Harnett. But Newton adds something new to the genre. His paintings revel in the effortlessness of their illusionistic effect, celebrating the tension between the abstract quality of a brushstroke and the precise representational image it renders in the viewer’s eye. The reflections we often see on Newton’s canvases heighten this unapologetic presence of multiple materialities—real, perceived, and imagined. Unlike shadows that extend across surfaces, the reflections of Newton’s depicted chocolates and ribbons sink into something resembling a mirror. This murky reflective surface is at odds with the angle and the opacity of the main surface, i.e. the painted canvas itself. The doubling of the depicted objects through these spectral, distorted reflections draws attention to the fact that painting, too, is a (subjective) reflection of some form of reality, be it everyday objects or less palpable things like the artist’s inner world. Newton’s choice of candy and ribbons as privileged subject matter conjures up memories of childhood and notions of play, pleasure, and comfort. However, enlarged and decontextualized, Newton’s candy assumes a different, more serious dimension, inviting the viewer to turn the banal on its head. I find Newton’s paintings of confections akin to group portraits. To me, they provide a meditation on the nature of painting. “Confectionery” comes from the Latin “confectio,” which means “something made by putting together.” That stands true of candy as it does of painting. The effect on the consumer of a good piece of candy, like that of a good painting, is the result of an elaborate, multi-layered process—one that we’re invited to “unwrap” in our minds’ eyes as we enter Doug Newton’s realm of confection as painting.
  • Creator:
    Douglas Newton (1938, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2016
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.02 in (35.6 cm)Width: 18 in (45.7 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.9 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU133915702771

More From This Seller

View All
Apples, Onions, Blue Bowl, realism, colorful contemporary still life
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Doug Newton says of this work, "Inspired by some red and yellow apples and onions from our local market. The blue bowl was borrowed from my daughter, Rachel. I hope the colors can br...
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Bread and Pears super realism, colorful, object, traditional still life
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Doug Newton’s hyper-real oil paintings observe reality, explore translucency, reflections and luminosity, and dazzle the viewer with all the ways light can transform our perceptions. His subject matter concentrates on still lives of food, toys, candy and household objects. In addition to many group shows across the country, Mr. Newton’s show, “HARD CANDY and other confections” represents his fifth solo exhibition. His paintings have been collected in numerous private collections. Dr. Sonia Coman writes in her essay, Doug Newton’s hard candy: the confection of painting Doug Newton’s paintings are about… painting. The hyperrealist technique of trompe l’oeil or “trick the eye” is knowingly playful. It simultaneously calls attention to the illusion of a different material—for example, translucent candy wrappers—and the reality of the layers of paint, masterfully applied to the canvas. In that, Newton’s paintings pay homage to an esteemed series of trompe l’oeil masters, from Inquisition-era Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán to Gilded-Age American painter William Michael Harnett...
Category

2010s Photorealist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Onions and Glass Bowl, super realistic oil painting food still life
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A still life painting in oil on canvas of red and yellow onions and onion skins with a glass bowl. Inspired by Spanish still life painting. It is gallery wrapped with clean white sid...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Two Picardie Glasses, colorful, photo realistic
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Doug Newton’s hyper-real paintings observe reality, explore translucency, reflections and luminosity, and dazzle the viewer with all the ways light can transform our perceptions. Hi...
Category

2010s Photorealist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Blue into Gold, colorful food, candy super realistic reflections
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A realistic oil painting if two cellophane wrapped hard candies, emphasizing reflections and brilliant color. Gallery wrapped on heavy stretchers with clean white sides. Can be exhib...
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Magenta and Aqua, colorful realistic oil painting
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Crumpled colored tissue paper and two bistro glasses. A study of color and texture. Painted from life, not a photo. Clean white sides.
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

You May Also Like

ASSORTED APPLES - Contemporary Still Life / Realism / Photorealism
Located in New York, NY
Original Oil painting by Edward A. Butler. Edward A. Butler (b. 1948, Philadelphia, PA) completed his BFA at the Philadelphia College of Art. A passionate painter from a young age, ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

The Forager – Contemporary Still Life Painting of Apples
Located in London, GB
An exceptional oil painting by acclaimed British still life artist Paul Stone, The Forager exemplifies the artist’s refined approach to contemporary realism. Inspired by classical Du...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ora Sorensen, "Apples and Crystal", 30x30 Realism Fruit Oil Painting on Canvas
By Ora Sorensen
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Apples and Crystal", by artist Ora Sorensen is a 30x30 fruit oil painting on canvas featuring a bowl of crisp green apples in a crystal dish,...
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Apples and limes. Original oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Apples and limes” is an ode to the simple pleasures of life, inviting viewers to appreciate the inherent beauty in everyday objects. I tried to find the color harmony of yellow - gr...
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Apples" Oil Painting
By Gregory Block
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Apples" is a still life oil painting that depicts a glass bowl of reddish Apples sitting in situ with a knife and halved Apple slices in a dark interior. ...
Category

2010s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Contemporary still life, red apples and water glass. Exquisite oil on board
By Gianluca Corona
Located in Milan, IT
The exquisite still life can be paired with another still life with peaches (symbolising spring and autumn) also published on 1stdibs. Gianluca Corona expresses the values of the m...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil