In the 70s these bottles were as common as cigarettes. In almost every rec room or garage one might find a collection of bottles, or license plates, ashtrays, etc. But bottles often lined the walls, sitting atop extra deep wainscotting, framed top and bottom by pine tongue and groove, or more commonly, sheets of printed panelling - fancy. The floors were topped with cozy shag carpet, the furniture a mass of oranges and browns and shades of white, all in keeping with the decade. I recalled all of this when I first held these bottles, but they would sit waiting for years in my studio before I knew how I would paint them.

I first saw Mary Pratt’s Preserves (1978), at Mira Godard Gallery. I think it is the painting of hers I connect to most - it’s simplicity, it’s naturalness, it’s quiet, and how it somehow represents to me, or my young self, a more familiar setting - the kitchen, the pantry. I wonder if Mary’s subjects grounded her, as mine do for me.

…and I wonder if this painting is my answer to ‘Preserves’. We are both, Pratt and I, trying to find ourselves in our work, and maybe it starts with where we come from…though it seems to me that Mary painted to understand her present, while I paint to understand my past.

Holly Farrell 2026