Fool Me Once: The Trompe L’oeil Sculpture of Karen Dahl and James Doran showcases the work of two Canadian artists who explore the concept of realness through their well-known sculptures. 

Trompe l’oeil—French for fool the eye—artwork has been an artistic pursuit for centuries, and has historically been associated with two-dimensional imagery that appears as three-dimensional space or objects. This term can also be applied to three-dimensional objects that, to put it simply, are deceptive in one context or another.

Whether or not something is real or fabricated has become a compelling conversation in a contemporary context as technology allows for the simulation of reality on multiple levels. Artists have been interested in exploring the dynamics of representation and authenticity for many years, but what that actually looks like depends on the artist’s interests as well as what is happening in society at that time.

Using clay and enamel on copper, respectively, married couple Karen Dahl and James Doran explore these concepts through their trompe l’oeil sculptures. The two are not collaborators, but their work is rooted in a similar subject matter and a desire to explore what still life means in the modern era.

Drawing inspiration from the art books she leafed through as a child and realistic European still-life depictions, Dahl creates an artistic narrative through her pieces based on individual objects.

“I am a compulsive collector and I adore the bizarre and unusual,” says Dahl. “I use faithfully reproduced, familiar objects as visual tools to seduce viewers into my work…The narrative is in the individual objects, whereas the combined allusion is broad and amorphous and may vary according to the experience of the viewer. My work is trompe l'oeil with layers of mystery, reflection, humour [sic] and occasional menace.”

With his sculptures, Doran focuses on creating something unconventionally real.

“At least I admit that my work is a deception. It is still real, though. The enamel is real, the copper is real, the objects and images are real, they’re just not what they appear to be.” Doran says, “The difference here is unlike so much around us today, my images are representations of reality, not misrepresentations.”

A recent gift of 27 works by Dahl and Doran joined three pieces by Dahl already in RAM’s collection—establishing archive holdings for each artist. Shown intermingled in this exhibition, the works of Dahl and Doran encourage extended viewing and consideration of art history, object meaning, and process.

These beguiling works will remain on display at RAM through January 10, 2026.

Image: James Doran

Entomological Doodle, 1989

Enamel on copper

11 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches

Racine Art Museum, Gift of Holly Hotchner and Franklin Silverstone

Photography: Jarvis Lawson