Jan Carl de Geer 2020

This is Nick Alm’s portrait of Jan Carl de Geer, made with oil on canvas. Alm uses traditional materials to create a composition that clearly nods to the tradition of portraiture as a display of affluence. The surface of the canvas is built up through layers of carefully blended oil paint, a testament to the skill and patience required by this traditional art form. The artist’s approach is incredibly labor-intensive, involving many hours of meticulous work to achieve this photorealistic likeness. The smooth, almost polished finish of the painting belies the work involved in its making, a fact that connects to the sitter's social class. Jan Carl de Geer's relaxed pose and attire—the blazer, open-necked shirt, and casually-held gun—suggest a life of leisure, a lifestyle enabled by the labor of others, and indeed, the work of the artist himself. Considering these relationships of making, materials and social status, the painting encourages us to reflect on the ways in which art can both reflect and reinforce social hierarchies.