Study of the Vessel

Notes

"This series of three brooches responds to Alexis Preller's Still Life with Lilies and Shell through a process of abstraction and material translation. Rather than reproducing the painting, I examined its formal structure by reducing selected visual elements to their simplest geometric forms. The flowers, shell, book pages, vase and spatial relationships were abstracted into shapes, lines and compositional arrangements that formed the basis of the three brooch designs.

The brooches reinterpret the painting through a combination of silver, brass, wood, garnets, coral, ceramic, shell and coloured wire. Each material contributes a different visual and tactile quality, creating a dialogue between the painted surface and the physical object. The contrasting geometric formats of the brooches reflect my interpretation of the painting’s underlying compositional framework, translating its shapes, proportions and spatial relationships into jewellery that presents a personal response rather than a direct representation.

Consequently, the brooches extend the static painted composition into wearable adornments that carry its visual language beyond the canvas and onto the body."

Statement from Nina Newman, 2026

Alexis Preller, Still Life with Lilies and Shell, 1948, Strauss & Co, Cape Town, 25 June 2024, lot 223, sold for R1 715 625.