Graham Nickson: Time in Its Place
Curated by Mary Anne Costello, Christina Kee, and Karen Wilkin
The New York Studio School is pleased to present an exhibition of works by Graham Nickson celebrating his remarkable career as an internationally recognized artist and his leadership as Dean of the School for the past 36 years. The exhibition will be on view Friday, October 25 through Monday, November 11.
With work spanning four decades, this exhibition is a “core sample” of Nickson’s highly original vision, a kind of miniature retrospective, drawn from the extensive collection of The William Louis Dreyfus Foundation and the artist’s studio. The selection includes stellar examples made at different times, in different locations, and in different mediums, culminating in his powerful canvases and watercolors of the last few years. Many works have rarely been seen. The recent material has never been exhibited before.
In the 1970s, Nickson worked from perception when painting itself was increasingly being questioned. He concentrated on challenging motifs including the clichéd subject of sunsets or well-known sights like the Sydney Opera House. His intense level of attention to the figure is visible in the unexpected articulation of a bather’s knee or elbow or the subtle asymmetries of a human face.
Nickson’s observations take us by surprise focusing on the symphonic qualities found among the chaos of clouds and sky, a central subject throughout his career. In different locations worldwide and working in watercolor at different times of day or during shifts in weather, Nickson’s work responds to the power of transient experiences.
Nickson’s approach is at once cool and engaged, precise and dramatic, ambitious and multi-figured as seen in works like Georgica Bathers (1986-96). The remarkable Study for End of Day Bathers (1984-86) communicates a sweeping beach scene entirely in finely calibrated grayscale. Both paintings present a modern-day Arcadia, with their own contemporary allegories. His recent watercolors demonstrate a perfect balance of color and line: a gorgeously green moonlit sky, for instance, or brilliantly rendered single tree-forms that seem to tremble in response to the surrounding light and air. In recent works, Nickson has revisited the motifs of potent earlier watercolors to create large-scale, equally resonant canvases. His new works attest to a vision fully realized, whether succinct and compressed in his watercolors, or expansive and generous in his ample canvases – all resplendent with radiant color and light.
Graham Nickson (British b.1946) attended the Royal College of Art, London. He moved to New York in 1976 and was Dean of the New York Studio School for 36 years. During this time, he created the Drawing Marathon course of study and established the MFA and virtual certificate programs. In July 2024, Nickson was named Dean Emeritus of the Studio School. Among the many awards and fellowships Nickson has received are the Prix de Rome, the Harkness Fellowship at Yale University, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Ingram Merrill Fellowship. His work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art; The Morgan Library & Museum; the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and the Yale University Art Gallery, among others.
Join us on Wednesday, November 6 at 6:30pm for a discussion between art historian Jack Flam and artist and writer Christina Kee on Graham’s work and career. A reception will follow. For more information, please click here.
Selected Works
Installation Views
