Magdalena Scholle
ARTIST STATEMENT
The Culture of Tea and Coffee
My current project is a series of representational still life oil paintings, which examine the culture of tea and coffee. The subject is closely connected to my personal history and influenced by my enjoyment of these two drinks. Tea and coffee have been my companions at various stages of my life, and I cannot imagine my years of studying and teaching philosophy, and more recently building up my art skills without them. In my works, I explore the preparation, serving, and consumption of these beverages. I also aim to bring to mind the ways they can stimulate imagination when we are alone, or conversation when we gather with friends.
The ideas for my compositions come from my imagination. Setups for this project are made from real everyday objects, some with many years of prior use. All of the elements are connected by their designed function or by traditions to the production and consumption of tea and coffee. In some paintings, I limited my color palette to earth tones in order to emphasize a mystical or timeless atmosphere, which I find can accompany the rituals around preparing and drinking tea and coffee.
The primary goal of my two paintings Coffee and the Nightly Study Time and Honey Lemon Tea was to show how students tackling their homework at night, perhaps quite late and quite alone, can appreciate the power of a small espresso or a cup of black tea. To better depict nighttime study, I intentionally painted a dark background and directed the viewer's gaze to the white cup. My other work, Mint Tea, presents the preparation and consumption of tea in elegant atmospheres. To better describe the feelings created by this popular beverage, I shifted my color palette toward the green hues of mint leaves. I gave this painting a sense of movement by painting a torn and empty tea bag nearby and tongs ready to be used to drop the yellow lemon into the liquid. In each of my paintings, I try to capture the moment of enjoyment when time pauses and daily anxieties can be exchanged for a warm drink.
