George Nick: 50 Years of Winter Scenes
Nov 6 – Dec 19, 2020 at Gallery NAGA
When so much is uncertain about our world, sometimes it feels nice to seek comfort in the familiarity of paintings we know and love. George Nick has been painting winter scenes since the beginning of his career. Gallery NAGA is pleased to present, for the first time, a selection from fifty years of these paintings together in one space.
George Nick: 50 Years of Winter Scenes is on exhibition from November 6 through December 19. Due to Covid-19 precautions, there will be no public reception for the artist. The gallery will be open to no more than 5 visitors at a time and masks and social distancing are required at all times.
The paintings range in years from the earliest, 1965, to 2011. The first, Pittsburg Feb ‘65, depicts a stylish car parked in front of a suburban home, both of which are covered in snow. The scene is straightforward and studied, a practice in convincing the viewer of its veracity. Fast forward to Gingerbread House, Concord, Jan from 1982, a painting of a house that looks like it was dipped in peach sherbet. It has just snowed and the house is sun splashed, warm and inviting with late afternoon light. The “whites” of the snow are anything but–purple, blue, and pinks work harmoniously next to the sweetness of the house. Later paintings are characterized by heavy impasto and a looser hand. Where once Nick might have tirelessly reworked a straight edge, later paintings are represented by relaxed gestures and broad expanses of color.
The exhibition is hung chronologically around the perimeter of the gallery space. Resting in the final position is Fresh Snow, Back Bay, 14 Jan. Here, Nick can’t ignore the presence of snow and its fondant-like piles, but underneath it all sits a classic, studied, and well-loved depiction of a Back Bay building. A classic.
Running concurrently, and in the back room, is Holiday “Smalls”. Now in its seventh year, Holiday “Smalls” presents portable-sized works of art by many NAGA artists and friends.