abstract : reality
in darkness there can be light
Constantine Nicholas has held over 30 solo exhibitions and 50 group exhibitions in Australia & internationally. Since the early 90’s, Nicholas has brought a sense of the material into the abstract forms and installations he creates.
“Exploring material forms takes me to the edge of what is real and what is abstract. I have this compulsion to push the extremes of materials, their density of lightness, colour and darkness. I just work with what I have at hand, layering and removing until I get to that feeling of completion.
These works can take form in many ways, influenced by how I connect with materials at hand. But overall I work with the material to imply a causation or physical change. A line can take on a form that attacks the composition to a smear of pigment that can obliterate and smother a surface. These elements, the materials and tools that I use change the intent and meaning of the work and its reality.
More recently I am conscious of my critical judgement at the final stages of a work, not to correct or balance a work formally. I scratch, scrape, rub and drag materials to disrupt the surface, allowing the materials to randomly complete the process.”
Learn more
select works online
abstract in situ
installations
ever ready
- EMR Gallery, 1989
- Installation view from ‘light’ exhibit
- Coal, batteries, copper wire
- Dimensions: 10m x 15m approx
crown land
- Canberra National Sculpture Forum, 1995.
- Parliament House, Canberra ACT
- Royal crown painted on grass
- 208 First Nation place name plaques on acrylic
- Dimensions: 40m x 30m
“The artist does a great job of creating a realm between reality and abstraction. The white and black structures suggest real-life objects without explicitly defining what they are”
Lone Wick
Artletter @LoneWick_
“His line art is thought provoking. From the placement of lines to the colours he chooses”
Nikko Phipps
@nikophippsNFT
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