Consider the Cherry Tomato
CONSIDER THE
CHERRY TOMATO
In this jewel-like square, Mengle stages a chromatic whirlpool of citrus yellows, bubble-gum pinks, and cerulean blues that cradles seven elliptical forms—simultaneously seeds, planets, and the titular cherry tomatoes. Each oval is edged not by bare linen but by a hairline of iridescent copper, whose metallic glint flickers between rose-gold warmth and greenish fire as the viewer shifts position. These shimmering filaments act as both contour and connective tissue, activating the surrounding matte flashe and glossier acrylic with fleeting sparks of reflected light.
While resolutely abstract, the composition hints at Post-Impressionist still-life and biomorphic Modernism: a sweeping lavender arc reads like the rim of a bowl, looping yellow-green strokes recall a napkin’s fold, and the overall swirl evokes the dressing’s sheen or summer sun spilling across a countertop. Yet Mengle refuses stasis; pigment scumbles and drags, producing a sense of eddying motion that turns the humble tomato cluster into a miniature cosmos. The compact 7-inch format intensifies this energy, compelling concentrated, almost intimate viewing.
By elevating an everyday ingredient with bursts of iridescence and lyrical mark-making, Consider the Cherry Tomato becomes a meditation on scale and wonder—reminding us that a single bite can ignite sensory fireworks, and that attentive looking can transform the ordinary into the ecstatic. The copper outlines, in particular, underscore the alchemy at play: they transmute simple produce into luminous treasure, inviting us to savor both color and contemplation.
Consider the Cherry Tomato, aka Simple Pleasures
Advay Mengle (b. 1989)
2025
acrylic and flashe on linen
7 × 7″ (~17.8 × 17.8 cm)
https://advaymengle.art/catalog/id/AM-594
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Artist:
Advay Mengle (b. 1989)
Details:
acrylic and flashe vinyl on linen canvas stretched on wood stretcher
Type:
Painting
Additional Media:
brush
Support Materials:
linen, canvas, linen canvas stretched on wood stretcher, wood stretcher mount, canvas stretched
Date:
2025
Dimensions HxW in:
7x7
Subject Matter/Type:
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Marks:
- By artist, signed recto lower-left in blue: [AM monogram]
Provenance:
- The artist's studio
Catalog ID:
AM-594
© Advay Mengle
