Stoic family groups, huddling commuters waiting for a bus, studies in geometry. Everyone sees relationships in a Morandi painting. Their quiet contemplation rewards the viewer. His original bottles lay behind glass at his studio/bedroom in Bologna, but identical bottles are here to tell new stories.
Morandi was obsessed with showing the passing of time by adding dust to his bottles, I honour that by fading the colours he used and adding a layer of dust to the image. By placing his objects on a pedestal, I recognise his elevation from a obsessive recluse to global art superstar.
Modern publishers often crop Morandi images on the cover of books to make them appear more abstract. He said “There is nothing more surreal and nothing more abstract than reality.” But there is no doubt cropping in on his reality adds a contemporary edge and tension to the works.