Bar stool 2017

This painting, "Bar stool" by Nick Alm, is made with oil paint, and right away you can feel the artist is feeling his way through the image, feeling his way into being. The first thing you notice is the contrast of tones, the light of the background against the almost total darkness of the figure. The surface has a misty, scumbled quality in places where the paint seems to have been wiped back, or maybe even never applied in the first place. The overall effect is that the figure seems to materialize out of the gloom. Look at her hands! The way the artist has painted them has a lot to say about weight, pressure, and touch. Alm reminds me of Odd Nerdrum, who also plays with the old masters and has a similar interest in the possibilities of darkness and shadow. Neither of them is trying to make some grand statement. It’s more like they’re showing us that art is all about trying, failing, and trying again.