About the Artist:
Thomas Pfannerstill’s works in the ‘From the Street’ series are carefully crafted, carved and painted, trompe l’oeil depictions of everyday common objects he finds on the street. The finished pieces are a result of close, careful observation, and celebrate the quality of being, the ’isness’ of each object. They are portraits of quotidian, humble objects, but their painstaking recreation elevates them to a higher level. On the back of each piece is a description of where and when he found each particular object, so they provide a record that mirrors his movements through time and space.
In the most obvious sense these pieces speak to issues of commercialism and consumerism. They reflect contemporary state-of-the-art-graphics and one can almost sense the well-planned and psychologically tested strategies to sell the products. They are a testament to the effectiveness of that marketing, after all someone made the decision to purchase the product before consuming it and discarding the packaging. These pieces undergo a unique series of events that lead to their individuation, and this is what Pfannerstill captures in this work.
These works also express and capture the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi, a philosophy that embraces imperfection, impermanence and the passing of time. Wabi loosely translates as simplicity, rustic or understated elegance. Sabi is taking pleasure in the imperfect and the appreciation of the passing of time. Together wabi-sabi is the acceptance of what is, and the embracing of the imperfection and impermanence of all that is. It is a beauty of things modest and humble, and finding the beauty in things not often thought of as beautiful.
Thomas Pfannerstill - Louisville, Kentucky 2023