This piece draws from the tradition of Dutch still life masters like Jan Davidsz. de Heem and Clara Peeters,
where fruit, glass, and shadow spoke softly about life, death, and luxury. In their time, the central object often symbolized fleeting pleasures or unspoken desires. In mine, that object is a bottle of Dom Pérignon. To me, it represents celebration and escape. The grapes, autumn leaves, and golden metal base, almost like liquid gold, echo abundance, but also time passing. Still life was always about mortality, a reminder that everything we savor eventually fades. And maybe that’s why we raise a glass, to feel joy before it slips.