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Editorial / Artists

Food Meets Art

7 Aug 2023 | 4 min read

Food Meets Art

As a species we’ve been creating images and memories of food since maybe the beginning of recorded human history. Before the Instagram food photo, to a slower time that used to arrest life on canvas long before the invention of the camera, we’ve been obsessed with capturing the things we eat and how we eat them. And thus these recordings have had a profound impact on our present day understanding of (amongst other things) the past, of cultures, and class. Think of Edward Hopper's diner in Nighthawks, or Van Gogh's Potato Eaters, to any still-life painting during the 17th Century.

As an homage to our storied human history of documenting food… We take a look at BAD ART's 'Let Them Eat Fake' exhibition and present you with a selection of our favourite food-and-drink-based contemporary artworks to satisfy your palette.

Pop-Art pioneer Roy Lichtenstein's 'Still Life With Crystal Bowl' (1973).

Pop-Art pioneer Roy Lichtenstein's 'Still Life With Crystal Bowl' (1973).

BAD ART: Let Them Eat Fake

Artist and curator Anna Choutova is the brain behind BAD ART. A satellite curatorial project founded in 2016 with an ever-changing roster of emerging and mid-career artists that centres around pop-up exhibitions around London. An obvious twist on Marie-Antoinette's fabled uttering of "let them eat cake", Choutova's Let Them Eat Fake was instead a "dinner you cannot eat", an exquisite banquet of inedible food that explores the culture of "visual food consumption" featuring over 20 artists.

Installation view of BAD ART Present: Let Them Eat Fake, 2022.
Installation view of BAD ART Present: Let Them Eat Fake, 2022.

Installation view of BAD ART Present: Let Them Eat Fake, 2022.

Courtesy of BAD ART

Alma Berrow

There’s a feeling of memory and movement present throughout her work, in the sense that you can tell someone’s been here before…smoking cigarettes, eating oysters, and writing lists.

Installation view of Alma Berrow's A Tale of The Tarot (2021).

Installation view of Alma Berrow's A Tale of The Tarot (2021).

Timothy Taylor

David Shrigley

With multiple food-related collaborations under his belt, from a release of champagne with Ruinart in 2020, to his infamous 265 drawing takeover of Michelin-starred Sketch, Shrigley doesn't shy away from looking towards food for irreverent commentary on life (with all of its mundanity and madness). Check out his food-related limited edition and sculptural artwork.

Gavin Turk

Part of the infamous Young British Artists group, Gavin Turk, has had a recurring theme of 'waste' throughout his body of work. The artist delves into its aesthetic, function, and value, to explore its various dimensions.

Katherine Bernhardt

Katherine Bernhardt began to reach international acclaim once she started to create pattern paintings that showcase everyday objects - think tacos, toilet paper, cigarettes, E.T., Garfield, Crocs, and the Pink Panther - in the most unexpected mashups, all wrapped in a rainbow of lively hues.

From top to bottom: African Violet (2019), Fist bump (2020).
From top to bottom: African Violet (2019), Fist bump (2020).

From top to bottom: African Violet (2019), Fist bump (2020).

Installation view courtesy of the artist and The Page Gallery in Seoul. Photograph by Joel Moritz.

Nancy Fouts

Queen of the Absurd, Nancy Fouts, is known for her unique sculptures that transform ordinary objects and ephemera into works of art with whimsy and a thought-provoking sense of humour.

Tim Fishlock

Fishlock is not afraid to turn his eye towards difficult topics. Here we present one of his more self-explanatory pieces! The utterly soul-crushing (and existential) reality of dropped ice cream.

Yayoi Kusama

We couldn't concoct a list of artworks related to food and miss out art world darling Yayoi Kusama! Having achieved world-wide recognition for her incredibly varied art practice, Kusama creates art to express herself and soothe her mind.

Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's exhibition titled: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers (2023).
Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's exhibition titled: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers (2023).

Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's exhibition titled: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers (2023).

Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner Gallery

Are you looking to expand your art collection?

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