Miko Veldkamp

This work stemmed from Veldkamp’s interest in New York City’s outdoor dining areas, which remind him of aquariums. Glass structures and artificially constructed environments pervade the city as do the fake plants that often occupy outdoor dining spaces. This work becomes a reimagining of an outdoor dining area, as a fish bowl of sorts, with blue floor, and walls, and a row of artificial greenery. People sit down with their hands awkwardly placed on tables, and the main figure clutches an accordion, grinning anxiously at the viewer. All the figures in the painting are acutely aware that they are visible from all sides, being watched at their tables.