James Aponovich “Barga” 10/1000

"Barga", 18 x 24 inches, lithograph

James Aponovich (b. 1948–) is a still life painter whose work features complex compositions set against idealized Italian landscapes.
A native of Nashua, NH, Aponovich decided to become a painter as an undergraduate at the University of New Hampshire, where he received a BA in 1971. His first solo exhibition at the Currier in 1979 and another in 1982 at the Alpha Gallery in Boston launched a wave of critical recognition, and the Currier hosted a more extensive solo exhibition of Aponovich's work in 1985.A strong undercurrent of surrealism pervades Aponovich's work. He endeavors to depict the ultimate object and his opulent fruits, fabrics, flowers, and vessels function as archetypes. His paintings focus on the ideal, as opposed to the real, and his work is neither iconographic nor narrative. As the artist himself says: "In my work, if I am painting a peach, it’s not just the soft, furry flesh outside, but the hard pit inside. That’s the kind of meditation on objects that I seek in my approach."In March 2006, the NH State Council of the Arts named James Aponovich as the state’s fourth and newest Artist Laureate.