Ocom executed this painting on commission from the collector, who wanted to “balance out” Ocom’s portraits (in this collection) with a still life that was still complicated by the seemingly simple mix of objects: cutlery, lemons, a napkin, even a handtowel. In other words, what would a still life by Ocom look like? Terrific, it turns out – and as expected. The French art critic Jean Bouret said decades ago that the universal language of art “is that of familiar objects, of the bread on which the knife rests.” In the piece by Ocom, which he executed at the beginning of 2026, the universal language of art is that of the napkin stained by beetroot juice.
