VIEWING ROOM

NICK HERD
‘EDIBLE’

Jerico Contemporary is delighted to present 'Edible' our second solo exhibition with New Zealand artist Nick Herd.  In his latest series Herd’s arrangements are small, intimate and distinctly more abstract than we have seen by the artist previously. Each of the ten oil on canvas works in the exhibition have been painted from nasturtiums; a sprawling classic cottage garden plant with trumpet-shaped flowers that are both vibrant and edible. With radically layered textures and bold defining strokes the flowers and stems appear as if they are rapidly moving across the canvas.

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. 

For 'Edible' the artist has expanded his practice to include a series of works on paper. The artistic process for Herd, originates with freshly picked flowers or market bunches which he paints over a series of days; meaning that each time he sits to paint the arrangement has bloomed, decayed or moved. Where the oil paintings were painted from nasturtiums, the works on paper were inspired by poppies. With the titles of the works on paper coming from the time of day the artist captured the flowers in his studio.  

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Nick Herd was born in 1989 in New Zealand. His solo exhibitions include 'Dear Georgie, I've been painting', Jerico Contemporary, Sydney, Australia (2023); '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.