Congratulations to Nicole Irene Anderson who is the 2022-23 GRO Fellowship Program recipient. Read more in Nicole’s artist statement:
My work reflects a sensitivity to human vulnerability. I aim to trigger a sensory response that evokes memory and a heightened awareness. I do lots of traveling with the hope of stumbling onto places that elicit an emotional stimuli. Dwellings, land inflicted with environmental damage or human alteration, and historical locations are important to me. I find solace in slowing down and taking in these things that stop me in my tracks. Translating my photographs into paint and pencil becomes a process of articulating a shared mood or uneasiness of the times. I have especially been drawn to places that show neglect, and painting them becomes a way to empathize and make special the overlooked.
My multi-layered paintings are intended to take on big questions of land management and the environmental impact of expansion in the west. The intricacy of brushstrokes may first strike the viewer as something beautiful, but upon further observation, I hope these works challenge the viewer to think about how our altered environment has both helped and harmed us. The duality between beauty and at times, deploring subject matter is intended to show the complexity of these issues. I take delight in visual problem-solving and the task of exploring how the conventional material of paint can be manipulated to deeply resonate with the soul of people today–to address a collective anxiety, but also a collective togetherness in taking on the challenges we have ahead.
