Janet Fish is a realist painter known for her vibrant, detailed still-life compositions that capture the interplay of light, colour and texture. Born in 1938 in Boston and raised in Bermuda, Fish comes from a family of artists, which undoubtedly influenced her creative path. Her father, Peter Stuyvesant Fish, was a professor of art history, her mother, Florence Whistler Voorhees, a
Janet Fish is a realist painter known for her vibrant, detailed still-life compositions that capture the interplay of light, colour and texture. Born in 1938 in Boston and raised in Bermuda, Fish comes from a family of artists, which undoubtedly influenced her creative path. Her father, Peter Stuyvesant Fish, was a professor of art history, her mother, Florence Whistler Voorhees, a sculptor and potter and her sister, Alida, is a photographer.
Fish initially studied sculpture and printmaking at Smith College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1960, before transitioning to painting and earning her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University in 1963. At Yale, Fish studied under Alex Katz and Josef Albers, and alongside contemporaries including Richard Serra, Brice Marden and Nancy Graves. During this period, art schools favoured the principles of Abstract Expressionism. However, she soon developed her own aesthetic and claimed, ‘Abstract Expressionism didn’t mean anything to me. It was a set of rules.’
After graduation, Fish moved to New York City. From the late 1960s and early 1970s, she dedicated to the study of transparent objects, and thus began a lifelong exploration of the substance of light in nature. Her intricate compositions often include glassware, fruits, flowers and other everyday objects, arranged in a way that captures their luminosity and the way light interacts with them. Fish’s work stands out in the realm of contemporary realism for its dynamic use of colour and light, transforming ordinary objects into subjects of visual complexity and beauty.
One of the hallmarks of Fish’s paintings of the glass material is her technical precision and the way the works invite viewers to see the familiar in new and unexpected ways. The intricacy in depicting reflection and refraction creates a sense of energy and movement, making the inanimate objects appear almost alive.
Throughout her career, Janet Fish has exhibited in major galleries and museums across the United States and internationally. Fish has also been lauded by critics and media as the ‘master of the contemporary still life’.