Tony Matelli's 'Sideways Dinner' Tilts Still Life at Maruani Mercier

Tony Matelli's second solo exhibition with Maruani Mercier, 'Sideways Dinner,' opens August 8, 2026, at the gallery's Knokke space. The show features new sculptures that subvert still life, realism, and gravity, including a life-size self-portrait, the 'Weeds' series, and inverted flower 'Arrangements' in painted bronze. The title work stages an upright dinner setting as a pictorial relief, challenging physical laws. Matelli employs bronze, silicone, and resin to create trompe-l'oeil objects that blur function and surface. The self-portrait twists the head sideways, echoing classical contrapposto with deadpan humor. Born in Chicago in 1971, Matelli lives in Brooklyn and has exhibited at Yu-Hsiu Museum of Art, Taiwan; 500 Capp Street, San Francisco; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum; The Davis Museum; ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum; and Bergen Kunstmuseum. His work is in collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Uppsala Museum, Palais de Tokyo, and Kunsthalle Vienna. The exhibition runs through September 6, 2026.