Still Life Compositions

Nancy Faas’ bronze table pieces are a modern ode to the rich tradition of Dutch still life’s from the Golden Age. Like the old masters, her works use symbolism, attention to detail, and composition to capture the beauty of everyday life. Each piece by Faas is meticulously crafted in bronze, capturing the atmosphere of abundance, stillness, and transience that is so characteristic of historical paintings from that era.

Her works bring to life the rich textures and forms of fruit, sea creatures, birds, and unique objects, translated into the tangible medium of bronze. These pieces, inspired by still life’s, exude both nostalgia and a contemporary artistic translation, where Faas skillfully merges the past and the present into a new artistic narrative. Each bronze object in her collection tells a story of abundance and impermanence, with a nod to classic themes such as vanity, time, wealth, and the fleeting nature of material things.

In Nancy Faas’ work, both the dove and the lobster carry deeper symbolic, and even erotic, meanings. The dove, traditionally seen as a symbol of peace and innocence, takes on a new dimension in her bronze table pieces. In many art historical contexts, including the Golden Age, the dove was also associated with love and sensuality. In Faas’ works, the dove not only evokes purity but also embodies the subtlety of desire and the tender intimacy often hidden beneath the surface of everyday life.

The lobster, with its striking, armoured appearance, carries a different erotic charge. In the Golden Age, the lobster was often associated with luxury but also with the capricious nature of human desire. It’s hard exterior can be seen as a metaphor for protection against vulnerability, while its soft interior symbolizes gentleness and sensuality. Faas captures this contrast in a subtle and refined way in her bronze works. In her table pieces, the dove and the lobster thus symbolize both the vulnerability and the strength of human desires, as Faas elevates the classical still life symbolism to a contemporary interpretation.