Domestic Tranquility Domestic Tranquility

Nic Nicosia looks homeward in his latest series.

Nic Nicosia looks homeward in his latest series.

BY NANCY COHEN ISRAEL

BY NANCY COHEN ISRAEL

ic Nicosia’s work provides a welcome antidote to our rapidly moving, image-saturated world. In 2020, he began the homemade stories series, which was first shown locally at Erin Cluley Gallery the following year. In a continuation of this body of work, the gallery will open homemade stories: flowers later this month.

NNic Nicosia’s work provides a welcome antidote to our rapidly moving, image-saturated world. In 2020, he began the homemade stories series, which was first shown locally at Erin Cluley Gallery the following year. In a continuation of this body of work, the gallery will open homemade stories: flowers later this month.

Nicosia is a conceptual artist with a background in film and television. Since the early 1980s, his staged photographs have been celebrated in exhibitions around the world, including the prestigious Whitney Biennial, documenta, and SITE Santa Fe, to name a few. His work has been widely collected, particularly by museums across North America and Europe.

Nicosia is a conceptual artist with a background in film and television. Since the early 1980s, his staged photographs have been celebrated in exhibitions around the world, including the prestigious Whitney Biennial, documenta, and SITE Santa Fe, to name a few. His work has been widely collected, particularly by museums across North America and Europe.

In the current series, Nicosia finds inspiration in his immediate surroundings. “We are still working under COVID protocols so most of the work takes place inside my house,” he says. But with their dreamlike quality, these images are hardly strict renderings

In the current series, Nicosia finds inspiration in his immediate surroundings. “We are still working under COVID protocols so most of the work takes place inside my house,” he says. But with their dreamlike quality, these images are hardly strict renderings of his domestic sphere. While his living spaces provide a stage, the whimsical elements within make them pulse with life. “Because of social media, there are no new stories to tell. For me, I turned inside and made it completely personal,” he explains. Rendered in technicolor, these images present a joy in the everyday, with backgrounds replete with his own work as well as added images of flora and fauna. Among the latter is his cat. “She thinks she is a model,” he jokes. of his domestic sphere. While his living spaces provide a stage, the whimsical elements within make them pulse with life. “Because of social media, there are no new stories to tell. For me, I turned inside and made it completely personal,” he explains. Rendered in technicolor, these images present a joy in the everyday, with backgrounds replete with his own work as well as added images of flora and fauna. Among the latter is his cat. “She thinks she is a model,” he jokes.

Nicosia’s studio reflects his myriad interests and talents. “I can work on a drawing, a painting, and sculpture all in one day,” he says. In recent years his sculptural work has stepped out of the studio and into the gallery. In these works, which he considers drawings, however, his sculpture becomes part of the stage set for his reimagined spaces.

Nicosia’s studio reflects his myriad interests and talents. “I can work on a drawing, a painting, and sculpture all in one day,” he says. In recent years his sculptural work has stepped out of the studio and into the gallery. In these works, which he considers drawings, however, his sculpture becomes part of the stage set for his reimagined spaces.

Nicosia’s process is complex. “It all starts as a photograph,” he explains. He then begins drawing, collaging, and rearranging. “I

Nicosia’s process is complex. “It all starts as a photograph,” he explains. He then begins drawing, collaging, and rearranging. “I add things pertinent to what I’m feeling, seeing, and messing with,” he says. In one image, chairs at his kitchen table are textured with collaged leather straps. The ceramic tile floor, gone over with pastel, takes on the quality of velvet. At the center of the work is a vase of roses that have also been reformulated through collage. A pair of eyes have been drawn onto the door behind the bouquet. After these and other embellishments, Nicosia then rephotographs the work.

While flowers have a long history of symbolism, the ones alluded to in the exhibition’s title are rooted in Nicosia’s day-to-day reality. “I’m using whatever flowers end up in the house,” he notes, whether they are for Mother’s Day, holidays, or brought by guests. These manipulated arrangements capture light in their own way, casting unique shadows. “You get another layer of information from the objects on collages,” he says, adding, “I just play with the image.”

Roses play a starring role in one particular work. “My daughter brought over the most intense pink roses, so I had to make something with them. I did a close crop,” he offers. In this rendering, the bouquet blossoms into our space. Its collaged elements create pockets of light, heightening its dimensionality. Placing this tableau strategically against a window to rephotograph it, Nicosia uses space to imbue it with a monumentality that plays with perception, explaining, “I mess with information.”

In so doing, he lures us into taking the time to stop and metaphorically smell the roses. “This year,” he says, “is all about flowers. We’re just at home.” P