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

Douglas Newton
Silver Circus, hyper realistic colorful painting w/ abstract qualities

2013

$2,200
£1,686.03
€1,937.80
CA$3,090.01
A$3,458.29
CHF 1,810.29
MX$42,011.94
NOK 22,986.09
SEK 21,691.31
DKK 14,459.39

About the Item

Oil 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:
    2013
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU133915702791

More From This Seller

View All
Red Spirals, colorful, superrealism, photorealism
By Doug Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Painted directly from live observation, Doug Newton’s hyper-real paintings explore translucency, reflections and luminosity, and dazzle the viewer with all the ways light can transfo...
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Iridescence, super realistic oil painting of colorful iridescent ribbons
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
colorful ribbons Oil 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...
Category

2010s Photorealist Interior 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

Red Spirals, colorful ribbon and candy, super realism neutral toned background
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil paint on canvas colorful whimsical
Category

2010s Photorealist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pink and Black, colorful, super realism
By Douglas Newton
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil on canvas, color superrealism Doug Newton’s hyper-real oil paintings observe reality, explore translucency, reflections and luminosity, and dazzle the viewer with all the ways li...
Category

2010s Photorealist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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

Reno Circus Circus
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have live...
Category

2010s Photorealist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Quattro - Original modern pop still life oil painting- contemporary Artwork
By Douglas Newton
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Douglas Newton’s Quattro is a mesmerizing example of contempor...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Diversity" by Karina Rodríguez, Oil Painting - Realistic Rubber Band Ball
Located in Denver, CO
Karina Rodríguez's "Diversity," rendered in oil on panel, measures 12 x 12 x 75 inches, with a framed dimension of 13.25 x 13.25 inches, ready to hang. This strikingly realistic stil...
Category

2010s Photorealist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

One to Three - Original modern pop still life oil painting- contemporary Artwork
By Douglas Newton
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Douglas Newton’s "One to Three" is a captivating oil on canvas...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marbles 20, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Carlos Bruscianelli
Located in Yardley, PA
Original Oil Painting on cotton canvas by Carlos Bruscianelli, Venezuelan realist painter based in USA. :: Painting :: Photorealism :: This piece comes with an official certificate o...
Category

2010s Photorealist Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Study for 'Kaleidoscope'" By Tony Curanaj, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Tony Curanaj's (US based) "Study for 'Kaleidoscope'" (2024) is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a colorful, whimsical still life featuring an antique gumball machine. ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil