These vibrant figurative works emerge from intuitive marks on the surface into developed paintings intertwined with the embodiment of human emotion and personal life experiences. The surreal-like oil paintings become considered displays of poetic absurdity, anxiety, melancholy, manual labor, pressures of life and feelings of not belonging. The expressive cast of stylized figures with exaggerated features and unnatural hues of flesh are proxies for the viewer to connect themselves within the present circumstances. Fusing a variety of art historical references from Expressionism, Peter Saul to Chicago Imagists, the work engages visual metaphors, hypothetical situations, social commentary and humor to explore the psychological and physical endurance submerged within our contemporary life.
Nicasio Fernandez (b. 1993 Yonkers, NY) received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2015. Recent solo exhibitions include Within and Without at Harper’s, East Hampton, NY, (2021) How Can I Tell You? at Ross+Kramer Gallery East Hampton, NY (2020); and Something’s Off at Over the Influence Los Angeles, CA (2020). Fernandez’s work has been featured in group shows in Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, and South Korea among others. His work is included in the collections of the Hall Art Foundation, North Adams, MA; and the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection (The Bunker), West Palm Beach, FL. Fernandez lives and works in Mahopac, NY.
[artist statement courtesy of Alexander Berggruen gallery]