Profiles of Contemporary Art and - ARTisSpectrum

Nicole Alger
Red Sun Oil 60” x 48”
Nicole Alger has crafted a
spellbinding and stunningly beautiful
body of work. The expertly rendered
figures that populate her paintings seem
almost godlike, inspiring viewers to seek
a higher path. Honoring past masters
of painting, the classically trained Alger
is grounded in the tradition of realism,
and her work adds a new creative voice
to the genre. Alger’s subjects evolve
around an inner landscape, the formless
dimension where thought, emotion, and
inspiration are born.
We find the artist pushing realism to its
limits by using the human figure to expand
upon its physical boundaries. Flourishes
such as mythical landscapes, individuals
defying natural forces, and extraordinary
halos of divine light provide additional
layers of meaning while acting as Alger’s
distinctive artistic fingerprint. “By fusing
realism and abstraction, my paintings
depict an elusive inner reality that by
itself has no representational form,”
she explains. Backgrounds themselves
become a fundamental character. Some
appear much like the sunset splashing
over a great body of water, while others
burn intensely before our eyes.
The tactile surface quality infuses
the image with directional energy,
propelling our eyes to move around the
composition. Vivid flecked light splashes
onto the flesh, eyes, and hair, baptizing
the individual in pure energy. Streaks
Nicole in her Studio
Aspiration Oil on Canvas 36” x 72”
of fiery orange and crimson penetrate
the shadows like rays of awareness
cutting through the opaque darkness
of ignorance. The works express a
distinctive spirituality. As Alger explains,
“The images on my canvases evoke the
striving for balance, self-knowledge, and
healing that occupies so much of our
time.”
Nicole Alger studied art at L’Ecole
Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts
in Paris and at the Florence Academy
of Art where she immersed herself in
the rudiments of classical painting.
She has also studied Greek mythology
and Buddhism, and has harnessed the
powerfully evocative chakra system as a
means to comprehend and communicate
the ineffable. Alger has exhibited her
works in New York, Chicago, San
Francisco, and Washington D.C. and
they have also appeared in popular
magazines and even a Hollywood
feature film. She lives and works in New
York City.
www.agora-gallery.com/ArtistPage/
Nicole_Alger.aspx
96 ARTisSpectrum