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Abend Gallery is pleased to present The Beauty of Sustenance, a solo exhibition of new still life paintings by Kelly Birkenruth. The series returns to the familiar fruits and vegetables that pass through our hands every day and asks what it means to truly see them. Pears, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, and squash sit as vibrant, unapologetic presences, painted with the attention they deserve.

The colorful backgrounds are not incidental. They elevate and hold each subject in a space of reverence. These foods sustain us in the most literal sense, yet their beauty is easy to miss in the routine of daily life. Birkenruth paints them alive and almost celebratory, as if each one holds its own energy.

Rooted in the methods of the Old Masters and carried by Birkenruth's handling of light, the paintings are an invitation to look again, more closely, and to recognize the beauty and abundance that exist within the ordinary. The Beauty of Sustenance is on view September 19, 2026 – October 10, 2026.

Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, September 19, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The artist will not be in attendance.

This body of work is an exploration of the quiet, essential relationship between nourishment and observation. Through still life I return to the familiar, fruits and vegetables that pass through our hands every day, and ask what it means to truly see them. Portrayed here as vibrant, unapologetic presences, these forms become worthy of the attention they deserve.

The colorful backgrounds are not incidental; they elevate and hold each subject in a space of reverence. These foods sustain us in the most literal sense, yet their beauty is easy to miss in the routine of daily life. I'm not interested in depicting them as neutral objects; I want them to feel alive, almost celebratory, as if they are holding their own energy.

Ultimately, this work is an invitation to look again, more closely, and to recognize the beauty and abundance that exist within the ordinary.

Kelly Birkenruth (b. 1972) makes contemporary realist paintings rooted in the methods of the Old Masters, portraits and still lifes built on careful modeling of light, structured composition, and precise rendering of surface. After earning her degree from Pennsylvania State University, she began a career as a fashion model, and her agency soon sent her abroad to Paris and Tokyo. Off the runway she spent long hours in the great museums of the world studying the Old Masters, and that time convinced her to dedicate her life to fine art. Back in the States she studied at Otis College of Art in Los Angeles, then continued through workshops and private study with Daniel Sprick, Steven Assael, and Jesus Emmanuel Villarreal.

Her paintings pull the viewer in by interweaving emotion with a humanistic quality through her handling of light. Across portraits and still lifes she evokes a sensitivity and empathy that carry the work past mere representation, toward images with a timeless quality.

Birkenruth's work has been exhibited at the MEAM museum in Barcelona, the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Rockwell Museum, and she has received awards from the Art Renewal Center, the Portrait Society of America, and the Salmagundi Club. Artists Magazine named her Artist of the Month in February 2017, and her work has been featured in American Art Collector. Her paintings are held in public and private collections throughout the United States.