Vivienne Shark LeWitt
Stir-fried tofu and snowpeas 2001

 Biography:

Vivienne Shark LeWitt is an artist who utilises wit and subversive humour to explore the complicated and often comical nature of the human condition. Her works often depict banal everyday activities, such as individuals examining receipts, walking their dog or getting a haircut, but with a humorous twist where, for example, the title of the painting posits what the dog may be thinking during this afternoon walk. This humour is often used as a social critique, with many of Shark LeWitt’s paintings exploring ideas of animal rights and power dynamics between men and women. The first substantial display of Shark LeWitt’s twenty-eight year career took place at the Ian Potter Museum of Art in Melbourne in 2008. Vivienne Shark LeWitt is represented by the Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.

Notes:

Shark LeWitt’s work Stir-fried tofu and snowpeas can be interpreted as an ironic celebration of the new age man who, while he is not afraid to put on a frilly apron and cook dinner, still sets the kitchen on fire. His selection of ingredients diverts dramatically from the traditional Australian image of a man grilling meat on a barbeque, with the new age man instead opting for the far more health-conscious tofu and snowpeas. This work, like many by Shark LeWitt, is incredibly intimate, inviting the viewer into the subject’s domestic setting and encouraging them to watch their private triumphs and failures.