Art Reflection: Real, Surreal, and Photoreal at Nassau County Museum of Art (Fall 2025)

The Nassau County Museum of Art's latest exhibition, Real, Surreal, and Photoreal, was a real delight. The many artworks featured transcend time and space, some highlighting details that are hard to miss while others offer broad strokes of how we might perceive something to appear. The theme of the exhibit feels all-encompassing, and I was excited to dive in.

“Confini Segreti” by Roberto Bernardi

"Confini Segreti" by Roberto Bernardi is a masterpiece of photorealism. Using oil paints, Bernardi transports us back to being a kid in a candy shop. What impressed me most upon viewing this piece were the plastic candy wrappers surrounding the lollipops. They were magnificent and truly looked like a photograph rather than a painting. In English, "Confini Segreti" translates to "Secret Borders," as if to pose an adventure to the viewer: where does the painting begin and end if it’s so lifelike? There is something nostalgic about Bernardi's work, and perhaps it speaks to the child in all of us. ​

The plastic wrapper around the lollipops is impressive.

The rainbow candy coloring also looks so real.

"Marzipan from Erice" by Janet Fish

Delicate shadows over the fruit.

The pleasant pastels of this art piece by Janet Fish are absolutely gorgeous. The colors feel soft and luxurious, capturing not only the objects in time but also their shadows. I love how the shadows work together, toppled over one another. This is the kind of painting I could eat—or almost feel like eating. It's delicious, sweet, and a beautifully captured moment in time.

"Surrealistic Bullfight: The Parrots" by Salvador Dalí

One of the main things I wanted to see during the exhibition was this work by Salvador Dalí. Dalí is a well-known surrealist, with his wild imagination and even wilder illustrations in his fantasy world. This particular piece, translated as Surrealistic Bullfight: The Parrots, is dark but also kind of fun. I love the splotched golden orbs on the parrot’s body, as well as the line work of the elephant nose on the mask-esque human face.

What was also really cool about this work was how it was transformed into a tapestry medium, with woven fibers. It's an exact copy of the illustration, and it’s so fascinating to see how different works translate across mediums.

"Stone Pine, Villa Borghese" by Eric Dever

Stone Pine, Villa Borghese is my introduction to Eric Dever’s style and work. What caught my attention was the seemingly endless horizon, with a slight orange sunset far off in the distance. The towering trees feel familiar but also foreign, and I loved the texture of the canopies. Also, notice the dark, royal blue bark clothed over the trees. To me, this piece feels meditative and outward, as if we're being invited to sit still, look, and settle.

"The Ten Dollar Bill" by John F. Peto

This painting on above was a gem of a find! It’s easy to miss since it’s tucked away at the end of the second floor, but I believe it’s one of the older paintings featured in the exhibition. This realistic work by John F. Peto is from 1889—yes, you read that year correctly. It’s so cool to see such a seemingly simple image of a ten-dollar bill, crumpled up at that. I really like the simplicity, and it’s fun to see how people back in the day interpreted photorealism.