VIEWING ROOM

NICK HERD
‘DEAR GEORGIE, I’VE BEEN PAINTING’

Jerico Contemporary is pleased to present our first solo exhibition with New Zealand artist Nick Herd, Dear Georgie I've been painting. The show will open on Thursday the 19th of January and continue through to Saturday the 11th of February 2022.

Known for his thick application of paint, referred to technically as impasto, Herd has carved out a recognisable style distinctly his own. With a sophisticated palette and incredible artistic restraint - especially when using excessive amounts of oil paint, the artist captures movement and life in every textured stroke.  In his latest body of work, the artist offers eleven still life paintings, with a single impressive large-scale portrait titled 'Blue Eyed' and a wooden sculpture depicting his muse Matilda. 

In the series of still life oil paintings, Herd’s arrangements are offered to us both in paint and sculpted form. With radically layered textures, and bold defining strokes; the flowers appear as if they are moving across the canvas. The artistic process for Herd, originates with fresh floral arrangements which he paints over a series of days; meaning that each time he sits to paint the arrangement has bloomed, decayed or moved. This transformation of subject, results in a series of paintings full of play and motion with oil paint laid on so thickly that the texture of the palette knife is clearly visible. 

ARTIST TALK:

EXHIBITION WALK-THROUGH:

‘I became obsessed with oil paint from the beginning because of its texture and ability to capture movement in a simple stroke. You can basically take excessive amounts of paint directly from the tube straight to a canvas. Throw dollops together and mix them. Literally throw paint. Its much similar to sitting in a sandpit given a bucket and spade as child. You just start doing things. Its all intuitive in its application. The play part is just as important as the finishing. I get excited when I can notice little quirky moments of play in the paintings. I just think that somehow oil paint has the ability to capture these quirky little moments.’

– NICK HERD

IN THE STUDIO:

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Nick Herd was born in 1989 in New Zealand. His solo exhibitions include 'She Loves You', Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne, Australia (2022), 'Bloom', Parlour Projects, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (2021), and 'Fool on a Hill', Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne, Australia (2017).  His selected group exhibitions include, 'Group Show', Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne, Australia (2017) and 'We Are The Ones', Copenhagen (2017). The artist currently lives and works in Sydney, Australia.