It would be easy to simply classify Montreal-based artist Pierre Raby’s work as “photorealistic”; but to do so, I think, is to miss the point.
Raby’s paintings of cups, saucers, glassware and silver are marvelous wonderlands of light — reflected, refracted and bounced from one surface to the next in a cascade of color changes.
Raby’s still life objects imbue one another with color, reveal themselves in contrasts and harmonies, and perform a complex interaction with dark backgrounds in the interplay of their lost and found edges.
He works in oils in a classic glazing technique, building his colors in thin layers of translucent paint.
In addition to still life, Raby paints urban landscapes and portraits, all with a refined approach and an eye for the actions of light.
Raby’s primary web presence is his blog; there is also an older, though no longer updated, separate blog devoted to smaller works. You can also find a selection of his work on the site of the Miller Gallery.