YGL Gallery: On The Vine

Presenting the finest heirlooms of the season! 🍅

Jun 20, 2025

Welcome to the YGL Gallery where you’ll find a curation of artworks, articles, and items that orbit around a common theme. Allow me to hang your coat while you waltz through the rooms below. Please enjoy the show and visit again soon!

YGL Gallery Presents: On The Vine

It’s a true pleasure to have the gallery open and buzzing once again. Whether you’ve attended my past exhibits or are stepping into this space for the very first time—welcome!

As you may have guessed, today’s show is dedicated to the plump, hearty tomato. And what better day to honour it than the first day of summer? If you’ve wandered through Mediterranean markets or grown them in your own backyard, you already know we’re not talking about grocery store varietals. We’re celebrating the sun-drenched jewels—those with deep hues, delicate skins, and a perfect harmony of earthiness, sweetness, and acidity. The tomatoes that burst with a quiet elegance and elevate every summer dish they touch. I hope this show reminds you of warm soil, long light, and the slow, generous rhythm of the season we are entering. Please enjoy.

* This article is full of photos, you’ll likely need to hit “view entire message” if you’re reading via email. As always: the gallery exit is located at the end of the hall through the gift shop.

Entering the Main Gallery

Left: Tomato sculpture by **Hannah Kleeberg** (2024). Right: Tomato necklace by **Outside Observations** (2025).

Left: **LOEWE** perfume campaign (2024) - Photograph by **Bobby Doherty**. Right: Mad Scientist and the Bionic Tomato by **Talchi Miura** (1994) - Oil on canvas.

Nature Morte aux Tomates by **Paul Gauguin** (1883) - Oil on canvas.

Left: Gazpacho by **Javi Suárez G** (2023) - Photography. Right: Red Delicious by **Flamingo Estate** (2023) - Photography.

Left: Tomato Plant by **Pablo Picasso** (1944) - Oil on canvas. Right: Back From the Market by **Frederic Forest** (2024) - Digital Illustration.

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” — Miles Kington

Tomato People by **Sara Hagale** (2023) - Illustration.

Left: Tomato by **Sayed Haider Raza** (1988) - Acrylic on canvas. Right: Splat by **Pierre Thomas** (2022) - Digital illustration.

Filtri D’Amore by **Stilema Studio** (2023) - Photography by **Carlo Piro**.

Left: Tomato by **Senne Van der Ven** (2021) - Film photography. Right: Vintage Still Life Tomato by **Sam Nicklin** (2024) - Photography. Individual Tomato Graphics by **Juliet Bedell** (2019) - Collage on paper.

“Tomayto tomahto!”
A popular phrase used to dismiss a correction or express that two similar things are exactly the same (when they are slightly different).

Left: Rouge Hermès Advertisement by **Hermés** (2025) - Photography. Right: Marketing campaign by **Heinz Ketchup** (2022) - Photography.

Left: Three Tomatoes by **William James Glackens** (1915) - Oil on wood panel. Right: Market Tomatoes by **Lauren Neufeld** (2024) - Film photography.

Left: Campbell’s Soup Can by **Andy Warhol** (1966) - Screenprint on paper. Right: Simplify Summer for **Bon Appetit** (2023) - Photography by **Graydon Herriott**.

Still Life by **Luis Egidio Meléndez** (1700s) - Oil on canvas.

Left: Cherry Tomato Season by **Katerina Shukshina** (2024) - Cherry tomato sculpture necktie. Right: Green Tomatoes by **Madison Hartley** (2020) - Cherry tomatoes and lichen centrepiece.

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” — Lewis Grizzard

Still Life by **Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell** (1920) - Oil on board.

Left: Summer on a Plate by **Kathrin Koschitzki** (2023) - Photography. Right: Sweet Tomato from Mt Vesuvius by **Enikő Katalin Eged** (2022) - Mixed media illustration.

If You Don’t Like Tomatoes (2020) & Huge Tomato (2024) by **David Shrigley** - Paintings on paper.

A Look in the Display Case

Campbell’s Soup Can on Shopping Bags by Andy Warhol (1966) - Screenprints on paper. Original Campbell’s Tomato Soup Sketch by Andy Warhol (1962) - Graphite on paper.
Smashed Tomatoes by David Adamo (1979) - Bronze Sculptures.
The Tomato Pincushion. Exact date of this invention is hard to pinpoint (hehe), but this household staple gained popularity during the Victorian Era (1837-1901) and was believed to bring good luck and prosperity.
Vintage Italian Golden Tomato Clutch Bag (1960) - Gold tone metal with velvet interior. Designer unknown.
The New Yorker cover art by Helene E Hokinson (1944) - Farmer delivering tomatoes to kitchen workers.

Artist in Residence: Joy Sullivan

Today we have something a little different for our artist in residence: a poet! Joy Sullivan is a best selling author and educator located in Portland, Oregon. Her work has appeared in publications like Goop and Oprah Daily—and her first book, Instructions For Traveling West, is a beautiful collection of poetry.

Sullivan explores “what it means to be a woman in the world making slow and chewy art.” She writes about emotions and experiences with a deep melancholic mood. Oh, and did I mention she loves tomatoes? Please enjoy one of her beautiful poems below.

Left: Joy Sullivan photographed by **Kiara Rose**. Right: Joy’s book cover!

Tomatoes

I waited so long for love
and suddenly, here it is
standing in the garden, hands full
of heirlooms hot from the sun.

Soon we’ll make a supper of them.
Salted slabs between bread.
Your beard silvers. My hips ripen.
The mail piles up.

Phone calls go unanswered. Forgive us.
Our mouths are full of tomatoes.
We are so busy
being small and hungry and alive.

- Joy Sullivan

Don’t you love that? The visual of the mail piling up really does it for me. You can find her poem ‘Tomatoes’ and many other gems in her latest book, Instructions For Traveling West.

From the Gallery Archives

Hannah Kleeberg hosted a tomato sculpture workshop as part of her summer culinary retreat!
Alison Roman knows her way around some fantastic tomato recipes.
Current world record for heaviest tomato grown is 11.65 lbs (2022).
A complete guide on how to grow your own tomatoes.
Spain’s annual tomato throwing festival (La Tomatina) is set for August 27th this year.

Film still from ‘**We Need To Talk About Kevin’** (2011).

Exit Through the Gift Shop

I believe 2023 was the official year of the tomato girl summer. For those of you keeping the vibe alive, we hope you’ll enjoy the curated selection of tomato goods in our gift shop.

Madewell x LESET cutest pointelle set.
Handmade ceramic tomato jewelry box.
Red tomato stained glass suncatcher.
Delicious tomato paste in great packaging.
This tomato cookbook.
Fancy tomato leaf home fragrance.
Roma heirloom tomato hand soap.
Tomatoes on a vine embroidered baseball cap.
Dimmable tomato table lamp.

Thank you so much for visiting.

It’s always a pleasure to bring these galleries to life and hear your feedback. Feel free to share your favourite photo from the exhibit, your go-to tomato recipe, or a story about this vibrant fruit in the comments below.

Happy summer solstice, and happy tomato season everyone! If this exhibit brought you joy, please consider passing it along to someone else who might savour it.

Ciao ciao,