Soft, warm undertones underscore the mood of enchantment that runs through Nom Kinnear King’s paintings. The women she paints are of another time and place, nonspecific but suggestive of pagan days in the floral wreaths and ribbons they wear, the Victorian-era in their gowns, and the gardens and interiors they inhabit; and dream-like realms of another world entirely.
The women, who King likes to think of as “lone wanderers,” gaze inscrutably out at the viewer, present yet detached, or are entirely self-absorbed, indifferent to any potential observer.
The Bounty of Ash Groves, oil on wood panel, 10 x 10"
“I feel very akin to them that in that they are an extension of myself, as many are built from my own experiences and places I have been,” says King. “They reflect my own feelings, my desire for the quiet, to create and to roam.”
They also reflect King’s interest in local folklore and traditions, which she weaves into her own narratives that unfold in the fictional place she calls Fallowmoor.
Wind Birds, oil on wood panel, 18½ x 13½"
King is originally from the English countryside of Norfolk and—after studying fine art at Norwich School of Art and Design, and living in Melbourne, Brighton, London and Varese, Italy—returned to the region to paint from her studio in Norwich.
“I use local surroundings a lot in my work, the woods near my house and all the old houses I revisit…,” says King. “The traditional events that happen locally feed into my work…I feel like I’m going back to my roots in a way. Growing up as a kid in the countryside, I always looked forward to these seasonal occasions. The rhythm of the seasons plays into my work now, as it did into life then.
“I feel it is because when we are alone especially amongst nature,” King continues. “We are free to look more closely at our surroundings, to be with our thoughts and [be] free to pretend, to be in a world of our own make believe.”
Yews of the Gallant, oil on wood panel, 18 x 14 "
Yews of the Gallant depicts a hedge maze at the historic Chatsworth House comprised of more than 1,200 yew trees. A young girl is in the foreground with a rudimentary flag on a stick. In the distance two other flags pop up over the hedges, indicating she might be playing a game with friends. Wind Birds, which has an air of magical realism, was inspired by the hundreds of windmills that define the Norfolk landscape.
Brambleberry, oil on wood panel, 12 x 12"
“Nom Kinnear King’s work are timeless narratives of women meandering gardens, historic interiors and airy landscapes,” says Haven Gallery owner Erica Berkowitz. “Her compositions feature a familiar world of nostalgia, laced with magic and kinship with the natural world. These paintings celebrate a unique style of interweaving natural and man-made places with the female form, thusly creating a new and surreal archetype and a sanctuary of enchantment, elegance and longing. Her imaginary worlds whisk the viewer to familiar places that hold intrigue and reminiscence.”
King’s show Barely Be Gone opens with a reception on October 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. and hangs through December 1. —
Haven Gallery 50 Main Street • New York, NY 11768 (631) 757-0500 • www.havengallery.com
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