Spring
At just 36 years old, the artist is a member of new generation of artists who effortlessly move back and forth in their work from painting to photography to sculpture, installation art, and video, and then back again. This miniature (3 ½” square) painting made on 1/32” birch plywood is a seemingly exact replica of a color snapshot of two young girls playing with a garden hose one might find carefully preserved in a family album, or discarded and forgotten in yard sale shoebox. Presented with an artist-designed stand stand, the unique work, Spring, is shown unframed as a miniature sculpture. The work wonderfully tricks the eye which at first glance perceives the object as if it were a color photograph; once discovered, the remarkable verisimilitude asks existential questions about the role of the photography and painting today.
Artwork Details
- Title: Spring
- Artist: Elisheva Biernoff (American, born 1980)
- Date: 2016
- Medium: Acrylic on plywood
- Dimensions: Image: 3 1/2 × 3 3/8 in. (8.9 × 8.6 cm)
Overall with stand: 5 3/4 in. × 8 in. × 2 1/2 in. (14.6 × 20.3 × 6.4 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.651a, b
- Rights and Reproduction: Copyright © 2016 Elisheva Biernoff
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.