Isabel Quintanilla Pensamientos (Pansies), 2003

Isabel Quintanilla's 2003 still-life depicts flowers in a small glass. Seen against a warm beige background, a few shadows around the objects deftly give the surface a spatial dimension. Its diffuse quality—it remains unclear whether it is a table, another surface, or maybe a piece of cloth—adds to the impression of a symbolic significance of the motifs, even as the matter-of-fact representation at first appears to insist otherwise.

The artist specialized on interior scene of everyday life and objects found in contemporary houses and kitchens. Especially the small Durex glasses, an absolute icon of the middle class in late 20th-century Spain, was a frequent subject. Her paintings objects around her house, such as cups, sewing machines, and lamps or still lives of fruits, tables with meat or poultry can have the quality of intimate portraits.