Knife Skills (2025) oil painting on plexiglass by Tereza Barnard, still life with teacup, cupcake and knife

Knife Skills (2025)

60 × 89 cm
Oil on plexiglass
In Private collection

Artist’s Notes

This series dissects the modern religion of composure. Built from the language of civility: porcelain, sugar, water, light, it watches refinement curdle when pursued as salvation.

Across the paintings, objects meant to comfort begin to betray their purpose: the knife becomes a measure of control, the glass a mirror that refuses reflection. This realism isn’t nostalgic; it’s forensic.

Behind these meticulously lit scenes, politeness and charm operate as quiet forms of violence.

You, the viewer, are tested: will you reduce these works to commentary on feminine self-presentation, or will you recognize them as dissections of belief itself?

A private collector list exists for those following the series closely.