Hall 8 2017

Curator: Nick Alm's oil painting "Hall 8" from 2017 strikes me with its immediate aura of brooding tension. There’s a palpable sense of unease. Editor: I agree. My attention is drawn to the clear representation of class and a sort of enforced masculinity. Look at the brushwork, see how the application of the oil paint creates different layers of depth? Notice how their formal business suits indicate they are likely engaged in finance or politics; fields requiring such masculine representation. Curator: That darkened doorway looms like a portal—what do you make of the figure emerging from that space? It feels charged, doesn’t it? He almost looks accusatory, but from what source is the real question here. Editor: Right, it's a fascinating visual element. He seems to represent authority perhaps—an older generation of masculinity? This, contrasting the two figures on the right. I also find it intriguing, the materiality seems very deliberately rough in contrast with their clothes. Are they in a state of construction? Refurbishment? It is important to look at labor and art, not to divorce one from the other. Curator: Perhaps. Note how they are placed against what seem like framed artworks in a room that needs attention. Considering your interpretation, does the arrangement invite us to consider the transmission of power or anxieties within a family or social hierarchy? Is he interrupting their reflections on masculinity, now? Editor: Precisely! And I am struck by what isn’t there: there is an almost complete absence of other symbols of identity and place beyond the paintings; very pointed, considering what could have been included. I think what Nick Alm has made for us to engage with is our relationship with male iconography through both subtle and overt signifiers. Curator: It’s interesting how this artist, with clear roots in Realism and Modernism, plays with classic painterly drama while grounding it in…banality? It makes the implied tension almost unsettlingly mundane. The entire room—and perhaps the mind—as a workspace in itself. Editor: A fascinating piece! Examining the materiality alongside the potential symbolic intent definitely encourages new interpretations and a deeper consideration of social roles and anxieties. Curator: Indeed, Nick Alm invites us to not just see but to analyze what materials make and unmake!