b. JUNE 7 1985 gemini
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
*
PAINTER
Currently living and painting in NYC
LARA is pronounced LAH- RAH
ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings are installation-based, depicting objects, plants and animals. They are life-size, unframed and displayed much the way the subject of the painting would be in reality (e.g., up high, flat on the ground, partially or completely hidden, protruding out from a wall, etc.). The backgrounds are left white in order to reference and emphasize the neutral space which a gallery/museum wall provides. As a result of these tactics, the subject of the painting is pushed forward into the room, making the room itself the setting of the painting. This is contrary to traditional, illusionistic painting where the subject is contained within the picture plane and the viewer is pushed inward to the setting of the painting.
I am interested in how people perceive and experience the subjects I paint as well as how people perceive and experience traditional wall painting (meaning stretched canvas, not murals/cutouts). Painting has a lengthy and established history, full of expectations about how and where and what a painting should display. Rather than contradict these inherited rules, my intention is to highlight the obstacles and limitations which this medium presents. Historically, painting has either been representational/illusionistic or abstract/object-like; I want my paintings to be both. When a representational painting addresses the fact that it is a three dimensional object, as well as a window into another world, it has the ability to exist in our world while existing in its own.
My work is about how the physical space of the viewer interacts with the pictorial space of a painting. This interaction often creates a level of awkwardness, but it is this discomfort which keeps my paintings from becoming simply decoration and the wall simply a place to decorate. I want my paintings to activate the spaces they are in, making the surrounding architecture play an active role in the viewer's experience. In this regard, it is not always effective or appropriate for a painting to proclaim itself, to state its presence at eye level on the wall, or to even be seen by anyone - as tradition and expectation would suggest.
BOOK
COMING SOON! 2020
***
LARA NICKEL
12 HORSES - HOMAGE TO JANNIS KOUNELLIS
***
Published by SKIRA Editore, Milan
Trilingual publication featuring authors:
Germano Celant, Alex Bacon, José Jiménez, Lara Nickel
Designed by Lara Nickel
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
FONDAZIONE 107, Turin, Italy
12 Horses – Homage to Jannis Kounellis
2015
LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
***
I do not mix well with others!
I AM A PROJECT-BASED ARTIST,
MEANING GROUP SHOWS DO NOT OFTEN
SUIT THE KIND OF WORK I MAKE :)
***
2017
Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY
2016
David Richard Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2015
Radical Abacus, Santa Fe, NM
2015
Wade Wilson Art, Santa Fe, NM
2009
Pop-Up show (curator + artist), Santa Fe, NM
2007
The Process, Santa Fe, NM
2007
Pop-Up show (curator + artist), Santa Fe, NM
PUBLICATIONS
2019
Catalogue for solo show at FONDAZIONE 107
LARA NICKEL - 12 CAVALLI - OMAGGIO
A JANNIS KOUNELLIS
Published by Edizioni 107, Turin, Italy
REVIEWS
2019
Arte Mondadori magazine, (October), Italy / Art & Antiques magazine, (October), USA
2017
NHK TV (Nihon Hoso Kyokai), Trips, (March), Japan
2015
Art Ltd. magazine, (July/August), USA
2014
The Frontier, blog, New Zealand / Uncompromising Tang, Interview, USA
2012
Town & Country magazine, USA
EDUCATION
2007
BFA in Painting (Minor in Art History)
The College of Santa Fe, NM, USA
OTHER PROJECTS
2019
FORTUNA’S FEET
Artistic Travel - For the Research and Development of Fine Art
Italy, France, Morocco, Egypt
PUBLICATION COMING SOON
FUN STUFF
2020
Almost a Frenchie! Citizenship in progress
09-19
Lots and lots of stuff happened which was not validated by any kind of art institution- if you want to know more you'll have to ask me! I have some wild stories about meeting amazing artists even though I am shy, carrying a miniature painting around in my purse since 2008, witnessing ancient events in the middle of the night at Zuni pueblo, bribing my way through the Palio in Siena, solving Caravaggio’s murder, and everything else from stealing roses to falling asleep against historic monuments!
2010
Fell in love with France so learned French
2008
Touched La Bocca della Verita and fell in love with Italy
2008
Cape Clear Island Mural Project, Cape Clear, Ireland
Painting aide and not being able to finish a pint of Guinness, also I milked goats in Ireland for a blind goat farmer
2007
Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX, USA
Volunteer: guarding artwork and making weird noises which echoed off the cement walls when there were no visitors present
1992
People’s Choice Award, NM State Fair
At 7 years old I won best watercolor (a seascape which was accidentally hung upside down but still looked good, it was pink)
1990
High praise from kindergarten teacher for using a pencil when there was no black crayon available (I believe I was given a special scratch-and-sniff strawberry sticker for this achievement in understanding color)
