JP Terlizzi: The Good Dishes

14 August - 25 September 2020

Foto Relevance is thrilled to announce JP Terlizzi for a solo exhibition of his acclaimed series The Good Dishes. Filled with brilliant color, endless floral patterns, and elegantly composed fruits and vegetables, Terlizzi’s scrumptious still life works redefine traditional still life photography and offer a contemporary update to beloved tableware heirlooms.
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Artworks

Growing up in a large Italian family, everything was centered around food and the family table. [...] Along with my mother’s everyday dishes she had one set that she kept on display behind glass that only she handled, only she washed, and only she hand-dried; these were deemed “the good dishes.”

—JP Terlizzi

The Good Dishes is based on a practice both personal to Terlizzi and ubiquitous among families everywhere: the act of sitting down to a meal with a set of tableware reserved only for special occasions. Throughout Terlizzi’s childhood, his mother’s use of the ‘good dishes’ often meant that the priest was coming over for dinner. Meals served on those particular porcelain pieces were not just about the food being consumed, but were also about the social rituals and etiquette underlying the particular moment.
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- JP Terlizzi, Noritake 16034 with Radicchio, 2019
- JP Terlizzi, Royal Albert Gratitude with Cherry, 2019
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The Good Dishes crystallizes the inextricable relationship between food and memory.

Reflecting on the series’ inception, Terlizzi notes how, when sorting through the possessions of loved ones who have passed, the “family’s fine china […] was always given to the person that most cherished its memory and sentimental value.” In the interest of preserving this intergenerational sense of community, the ornate plates, teacups, and other vessels that appear throughout the series are all borrowed from Terlizzi’s own network of family and friends. This network has yielded an impressive variety of dish design patterns — a number of which date as far back as the 19th century.
- JP Terlizzi, Sango Aristocrat with Apple, 2019
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While The Good Dishes is steeped in tradition, Terlizzi's technique seeks to expand beyond the confines of the past.

Riffing off of the coloration and motifs on the dishes being photographed, the seamless backgrounds seen in each selection are produced by the artist entirely in Photoshop. Combining digital interventions with his mastery of formal, stylized still life techniques, the artist successfully demonstrates how old and new can come together with a harmonious balance.
- JP Terlizzi, Wedgwood Wild Strawberry with Strawberry, 2019
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Press & Related Materials
About the Artist

JP Terlizzi (American, b. 1962) is a New York City photographer whose contemporary practice explores themes of memory, relationship, and identity. His images are rooted in the personal and heavily influenced around the notions of home, legacy, and family. He is curious how the past relates and intersects with the present and how that impacts and shapes one’s identity.

Terlizzi’s work has been exhibited widely in galleries and museums nationally, including shows at The Center for Fine Art Photography, Vicki Myhren Gallery at the University of Denver, The Griffin Museum, Tilt Gallery, Panopticon Gallery, Candela Gallery, The Los Angeles Center of Photography, University Gallery at Cal Poly, and The Berlin Foto Biennale, Berlin, Germany, among others. His solo exhibits include shows at Foto Relevance Gallery (August, 2020) The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Cameraworks Gallery (Portland, OR) and Soho Photo Gallery (New York, NY). His work has been featured in PDN, Shots Magazine, Yogurt Magazine (Italy), Mono Chroma Magazine, Photo Emphasis, All About Photo, L’oeil de la Photographie, The Photo Review, F-Stop and Abridged Magazine (Ireland). Terlizzi holds a BFA in Communication Design at Kutztown University of PA, and has studied photography at both the International Center of Photography in New York and Maine Media College in Rockport, ME.

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