Three contemporary artists offer fresh insights into an age-old tradition: Still life is focus of Upstairs Artspace fall exhibit

Upstairs Artspace is proud to present An Ancient Genre Revisited: Still Lifes by Chris Clamp, Andrew Leventis, and Christina Renfer Vogel in exhibition from September 13 through October 16, 2026. The show opens on Sunday, Sept. 13 from 2-4 pm with a free community reception and artist walk & talk. The contemporary art gallery is located at 49 S. Trade St., Tryon. 

The “independent still life” painting (without figures) was a revolutionary concept born simultaneously in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands around 1600, based on literary descriptions of no-longer-extent Roman paintings of fruits and vegetables. Before 1600, artists’ renderings of inanimate objects were always incorporated into religious, historical or landscape pictures. Since that time, artists from Caravaggio to Picasso have chosen to challenge themselves with the complicated matter of successfully depicting a simple arrangement of fruit, flowers and other familiar objects in a pleasing and engaging way.

The three artists in the Upstairs exhibition present three different solutions to the tradition of the still life painting, offering new ways to think about the genre. Each specializes in their own individual subject matter, choosing objects from their daily lives, and each employs a distinctive painterly technique, with unique brushwork and surprising pigments. 

“Although each artist approaches still life from a different perspective, all three share an interest in elevating the familiar. They demonstrate that the choice of ordinary objects, when imaginatively arranged and skillfully painted, can tell powerful stories,” says Sarah Schroth, curator of this exhibition, and co-chair of the gallery’s Exhibitions Committee.

Working primarily in oil paint, Chris Clamp explores memory, family, and faith through carefully composed paintings of cherished everyday objects. Drawing inspiration from childhood keepsakes and personal experiences, his work transforms ordinary items into meaningful symbols of love, hope, and time. Clamp’s small paintings often focus on a single object, and they are painted hyper-realistically, placed against a solid darker ground, subtly graduated in tone, achieved by multi-layers of paint and glazes. Slow careful, nearly indivisible brushstrokes manage to “trick the eye” of the viewer. Clamp is based in Charlotte, N.C.

Andrew Leventis reimagines the historic vanitas traditional still life painting through contemporary refrigerator interiors. During Covid, he decided to paint the food found in his freezer and refrigerator, contemplating how long it would last during the isolation. It led to a series of paintings of contents of other refrigerators or florists’ coolers rendered with an extraordinary virtuosity of technique. His paintings examine consumer culture, mortality, and the fleeting nature of life while revealing the quiet intimacy of everyday domestic spaces. Another series is built around a pink-lined carry-on suitcase, open, showing shirts, cufflinks, a pair of dress shoes. Leventis claims precedent in the 17th and 18th century Dutch vanitas tradition, where symbols of transient life remind the viewer of the fragility of life. With an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London, Leventis now teaches at UNC Charlotte.

Christina Renfer Vogel celebrates beauty through large scale, vibrant still life paintings of flowers and houseplants, of things gathered from her home, studio and work spaces, in a bright saturated palette with expressionistic brushwork. The composition encompasses not only the table with an arrangement, but also the wall or window behind, sometimes with potted plants on the floor and partially visible curtains. Her richly colored compositions encourage viewers to slow down and appreciate the elegance found in ordinary and possibly mundane moments, bringing a fresh contemporary voice to a centuries-old artistic tradition. Vogel is on the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The exhibition was curated by Sarah Schroth, co-chair of the exhibitions committee at Upstairs Artspace. A specialist in Spanish art of the Golden Age, she has published numerous catalogue essays on Spanish still life pictures. In conjunction with the show, she will present an art history lecture, “The History of Still Life Painting,” on Sunday, September 20 at 2 p.m. This event is free but RSVPs are appreciated online here.

TheBethany Pierce still life painting demo is CANCELLED Oct. 3, 2026.

For more information, call the gallery at 828-859-2828, email frontdesk@upstairsartspace.org, or visit UpstairsArtspace.org. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 pm.