For his forthcoming solo show at Arcadia Contemporary, Swedish artist Nick Alm presents around 20 watercolor and oil paintings that reflect his deep fascination with the human form. Having studied in the classical tradition, Alm’s process involves drawing and painting from life, resulting in a body of work that expertly captures mood, elegance and atmosphere.
Afternoon Sleep, watercolor on paper, 19 x 28"
Through his experiences painting from life, Alm gained an understanding for the “delicate balance of light and shadow,” he says. “I’ve always been drawn to the subtle nuances of human interaction—the fleeting moments of connection, introspection and vulnerability that often go unnoticed. The complexity of human experience and the inherent beauty of form and composition remains forever inspiring.”
Alm wants the paintings to act as portals— “gateways to places that exist beyond the physical world,” he explains, adding that this concept of transition inspired the show title, Portals and Places.
Skogsnymf, watercolor on paper, 45 x 35"
Although the new pieces are similar to past paintings in terms of theme and technique, Alm says that most of them stand out as distinctly novel. “There are new takes on composition, and the narrative has expanded,” he says. “There is no shortage of new narratives; they are plentiful and everywhere.”
In show piece Skogsnymf,depicting a nude female standing before a still body of water against an impressive backdrop of boulder and rock, Alm shares that he traveled with the model to the archipelago in Stockholm. “No reference is as good as the real one, however, I rarely find a place that works perfectly as it is, so I had to invent and reimagine the landscape to some extent,” he says. “I have revisited this theme multiple times: the natural body integrated with nature.”
By the Lake, oil on canvas, 18 x 26"
In unique scenes, like Man in Sofa, Alm says, “I like the idea of turning something ordinary into something extraordinary. In this painting, I went further than usual in dissolving the form.” This effect claims the background of the piece, with the head of the figure “dissolving” into it.
We also see this in Change of Seasons, in which two women share a seemingly tender, but perhaps fraught moment on a park bench, surrounded by fall foliage. “What might strike you as realism at first, is actually quite far from it,” says Alm. “Alternating colors, values and drawing pull you into another world.”
Change of Seasons, oil on canvas, 31 x 45"
Yet again, By the Lake—a scene portraying two nude female figures in a dense forest—is also “a highly unorthodox composition, both in terms of light patterns and composition,” Alm explains. “By breaking the traditional rules, it becomes less obvious—almost like a form of camouflage.”
Hotel Shower, oil on canvas, 33 x 37"
Alm’s more intimate scenes, offering a glimpse of peace, rest or interlude, can be found in works like Hotel Shower, with one figure stretched out in bed while another showers in obscurity; Eva, of a cat sitting atop a resting female form; and Afternoon Sleep, a picture of a woman napping while brilliant light breaks through a nearby window. The subject is presented in a near angelic state, indulging in what appears to be the most heavenly nap of all time!
Take this opportunity to experience Alm’s figurative masterpieces in person at Arcadia Contemporary, located in New York City, from October 24 through November 12. —
Man in Sofa, oil on canvas, 40 x 47"
Arcadia Contemporary 421 W. Broadway • New York, NY 10012 • (646) 861-3941 • www.arcadiacontemporary.com
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