Sold for: $3,750

PROVENANCE
Masters Gallery Ltd., Calgary
By descent to the present Private Estate, Calgary

LITERATURE
Robert Enright, “Chef d’Excess,” Border Crossings, no. 103, 2007

Please note: this work is unframed

“From across the room, you think there's this beautiful spread of food and you're drawn to it. It's all the things you want and you want to be rewarded, you want to be indulged. But then what do you see? A pile of fish heads, things are dirty, things are half-consumed and it's all kind of gross. You can't stomach it anymore but you want to at the same time. So there's this combination of desire and disappointment."

- Chris Flodberg, regarding his “Matters of Denial” series, 2007

In the visually stunning Matters of Denial series, Calgary artist Chris Flodberg examines our wasteful obsession with decadence and the contradictory experience of guilty pleasure. Created from 2004 to 2011, the large format canvases present hyperbolized renderings of the opulent still life tradition, featuring decadent spreads in the foreground of cakes, lobster and wine, set against varying extravagant or surreal landscapes and interiors. In Born and Bred II, Flodberg has created a quintessentially Baroque ballroom complete with crystal chandeliers, marble columns and a gold recessed ceiling. The illusionistic scene is lush, colourful and alluring. It is only upon closer inspection that we realize the once plentiful spread has been reduced to chaotic carnage. While the exquisite Baroque interior continues to glisten and delight, the ravaged still life exposes the futility and transience of the opulence.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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