Leaving the bed 2019

Curator: This is Nick Alm’s “Leaving the bed,” an oil on canvas completed in 2019. Editor: There's an incredible sense of stillness. The cool palette really contributes, a muted emotional register. And that diffused light is masterful. Curator: Indeed. Consider the contemporary relevance of classical techniques here. The piece engages with a long tradition of depicting the female nude, but it does so in a way that considers modern power dynamics in painting. Look closely at the facture—how the oil paint itself is manipulated to create texture, implying both skin and drapery. What impact is being made on our view of labor and classical technique by it being available commercially to a broad audience? Editor: Precisely, and the semiotic layering is very compelling! The figure's posture, wrapped loosely in the sheet, has associations of both vulnerability and an almost sculptural solidity. Her back is bare, turned slightly away from us and she seems to pause there, existing in an instant of thought or reluctance. We might interpret the canvas's arrangement to convey themes related to psychological distance. Curator: We cannot overlook the historical precedent of intimism at work in Alm’s painting. The figure occupies an enclosed interior space, and the subdued colors enhance the sensation of privacy, which contrasts vividly to images displayed throughout contemporary commercial spaces. How do we understand such a piece’s social value? Is this intimacy commodified or rendered here in observation? Editor: An important point, and note the placement of the window. Not only does the light delineate the forms and textures, but the structure frames a moment in time. How do you feel about the use of classical oil alongside the artist's subject? Curator: The return to realism as a mode, paired with the image's implicit voyeurism, forces an interesting dialogue, no? One ponders the social implications inherent to it: is it mere titillation or an act of reflection on intimacy's representation? Editor: Food for thought. It certainly challenges our preconceived notions. Curator: I concur. And with that, we'll leave our listeners to contemplate Nick Alm’s piece in their own light.