It’s not often that art lovers have the chance to walk through a room full of paintings by the great Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. After all, there are only about 35 of his pieces still in existence, and they seldom travel. But if you didn’t make it to the exhibition of his work held last year at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, you may find that a show opening Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Sarasota Art Museum is the next best thing.
Artist Joe Fig’s Contemplating Vermeer gives visitors a glimpse into the world of the famous 17th-century artist while adding a twist: Each work depicts real people caught in the act of observing the originals at the Rijksmuseum show.
Fig, who serves as chair of the fine arts department and visual studies program at Ringling College of Art and Design, has been working on his Contemplation series, focused on other artists’ shows, for about seven years. He calls it a “natural progression from my prior work, which focused on artists and their studios. I had done paintings before of an artist contemplating his work, but seeing the work in the studio is very different from seeing it out in public. So I started looking at how people look at artwork in public. I wasn’t looking at people who were taking selfies and moving on, but really at the art patrons who appreciate and take time with the work. It’s that deep looking that I appreciate.”
