Beth Lipman's show "Precarious Possessions" will be on exhibit at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida through September 7, 2014.   The still life has long been used in painting as a visual metaphor for considerations of materiality, the conspicuous consumption of wealth, and the fleeting nature of life. Beth Lipman (born 1971) uses the vocabulary of the still life, particularly the table setting with its various vessels, foods, and associated objects, in complex sculptures created in clear glass.  For Lipman, the still life operates as a commentary on our current consumer culture.