Food

THE TEMPTATIONS OF PAULETTE TAVORMINA

By Paulette Tavormina. “Still Life with Lobster and Crayfish.” Courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery.

PAULETTE TAVORMINA

One of our most favorite photographers, Paulette Tavormina has debuted her new series, From the Sea, with Robert Mann Gallery at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD 2019.

Tavormina creates still life photographs in the style of 17th Century Old Masters, lush and carefully composed, with the same painterly sensibilities of color, light, and shadow. Think Baroque nature morts, Francisco de Zurbarán, Giovanna Garzoni, and Caravaggio.

Pairing perfection with imperfection and decay, life and death, Tavormina’s subjects create new beauty, even with bruised fruit, wilting flowers, spoiled oysters.

Paulette Tavormina lives and works in New York City. She can often be found at one of the city’s many farmers markets searching for the perfectly imperfect flora that characterize her photographs. She regularly uses artifacts collected by her family, friends and her own travels.

Check out Paulette Tavormina: Seizing Beauty (The Monacelli Press).

And stay tuned for updates on the rescheduling of Paris Photo New York once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Still life of bowl of lemons and dragon fruit. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Lemons and Prickly Pears.”

Hanging cauliflower and peaches with other vegetable sit on a grey windowsill. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Cauliflower and peaches.”

Bright red cherries overflowing in a bowl. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Red Cherries and Plums.” Courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery.

Still life of treasure chest, vase of flowers, and fruit in a bowl on a wooden table. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Vanitas I, Treasures, After E.C.”

Still life of fish bone, bread and wine on a tablecloth. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Fish Bone, after P.C.”

Still life of cabbage, hanging oranges and oranges in a bowl. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Oranges, after F.d.Z.”

Still life of oysters, lemon and grapes on wrinkled tablecloth. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Oysters and Lemon, after W.C.H.”

Still life of leafy peaches on vines, hydrangeas and insects. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Peaches and Hydrangeas, After GG.”

Still life with cauliflower, vegetable and bread basket. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Still Life with Cauliflower and Bread, after L.M.”

By Paulette Tavormina. “Cornucopia.”

Still life of cornucopia of breads, cheese, grapes and spirits. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Bread and Wine.”

Tavormina’s photographs can be found in museum, corporate and private collections around the world. Tavormina also works as a commercial photographer. Additional commissions include photographs for The Del Posto Cookbook, published by Hachette, The 1802 Beekman Heirloom Cookbook (Sterling Epicure), and The 1802 Beekman Heirloom Dessert Cookbook (Rodale Books) and Martha Stewart Weddings. Commissions also appeared in National Geographic Magazine and The New York Times, among others. Tavormina was awarded the Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant in 2016.

In addition to Tavormina, Robert Mann Gallery represents other 20th century masters, including Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, and Aaron Siskind, as well as an international cadre of emerging and mid-career artists working in photo-based art, such as Julie Blackmon and Murray Fredericks.

Still life of sliced pink watermelon radishes and purple ornamental kale. Photo by Paulette Tavormina.

By Paulette Tavormina. “Watermelon Radishes.”

Read more about Photography Art at The Photography Show: AIPAD all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.