Hall 2015

Curator: Here we have Nick Alm's 2015 painting, "Hall," executed in oil. What strikes you first about it? Editor: Immediately, it's the moodiness. That almost overwhelming darkness cut by the sharp rectangle of light. It feels secretive, a little melancholic. Curator: I think that tension comes from the staging of this quiet, intimate interior, reminiscent of genre painting, yet filtered through a very modern sensibility. The way light and shadow operate here is intriguing. Editor: Absolutely. Consider the oil paint, how it's worked almost to a blurring effect in places, particularly in the shadowed hall and even that suggestion of texture in the wall, versus the near photorealism of the figure's back. The materiality emphasizes that stark contrast between light and darkness, inside and out. I wonder, does that figure suggest a commentary on interiority and public space? Curator: Perhaps. We see the figure posed almost on the threshold, drawing a parallel between literal passage through a doorway and perhaps a psychological journey. Alm's figures often exist in these in-between spaces, evoking the loneliness inherent to modern life, even in domestic scenes. Note how the back of the subject is facing the viewer, blocking and shielding his intentions. It prompts us to examine who we permit to access such personal environments. Editor: Good point. And from a maker's perspective, I wonder about Alm's choice of scale. We are confronting an everyday domestic setting portrayed with an imposing life-size, as it suggests monumentality that forces you to engage physically, to recognize the inherent labor, materials, and construction it took to produce. Curator: Scale absolutely contributes to its gravity, disrupting the quotidian expectations associated with a domestic subject. Editor: For me, this piece transcends the superficial, asking profound questions about isolation and the nature of access. Curator: Indeed, “Hall” lingers, compelling us to confront the subtle complexities within the boundaries we construct, both physically and emotionally.