Emily Gernild’s compositions breathe new life and energy into the classic still-life genre, which usu-ally depicts arrangements of fruit, flowers and vases. Gernild, however, does not work from actual physical arrangements. Rather, each work is inhabited by her inner images of the arrangements, deliberate or not, which populate our everyday lives, storefronts and homes. In Gernild’s universe, familiar and perhaps slightly dull everyday objects like flowers and vegetables become dynamic and alive. What actually makes the living room table a table? Are vegetables best recognized by their colors? Gernild translates the images that arise as she lets her mind wander, reflecting on the shapes and curious names of everyday objects. In Bønnebord med palmekål she reanimates everyday objects: a beige, kidney-shaped table and a dark green vegetable. The organic shapes of the objects contrast with the triangular gable in Kirkestræde on which they are painted. The kidney-shaped table has been turned to stand vertically, with the slim, oblong leaf of the lacinato kale stretching upwards to the right. The artist employs colors to change the character of the forms, withholding the motif at first glance. Gernild plays with color, form and perspective to imbue the fa-miliar and recognizable with a novel energy to form new images in the eye of the beholder.
b. 1985 in Odense, lives and works in Copenhagen.
