January 10-February 8, 2003
gallery hours Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5:30
Nicole Gordon

Nicole Gordon

The Peter Miller Gallery is pleased to present new paintings and sculpture by Nicole Gordon. In this series, Nicole Gordon quotes nineteenth century French wallpaper, and embeds these narratives in contemporary decorative patterns. A visual conflict and harmony appear simultaneously, creating feelings of discomfort and pleasure when viewing these images of manifest destiny and colonial conquest.

Artist's Statement

Realm of Measure, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
40" x 30"


No More Absolutes, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
55" x 46"


These Dimensions, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
40" x 30"


In Unison, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
40" x 30"


Blue Morning, 2003
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
50" x 40"


The Shore, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
55" x 46"


Neutral Moment, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
40" x 30"


Fundamental Flaw, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
40" x 30"


Human Plans, 2002
oil, beeswax, collage, glitter on panel
55" x 46"

Statement regarding the Series

The Nineteenth-century bourgeoisie was fascinated by scenic wallpaper. Walls became a site of escape, a place to discover an ?elsewhere? at a time when social structures were being shaken everywhere in France. Production of the wallpaper was a commercial venture, with the usual economic principals applying. The result was that the Companies appealed to a mass audience by creating fantastical depictions of exotic lands, famous deeds, and conquests while using anonymous artists who sampled virtually every part of the paintings from popular engravings to minimize costs. The wallpaper was a product intended for mass production, which could not take chances or alienate the viewer. Most of the attention in composition was saved for classic ideals such as color, perspective, and balance rather than symbolism or philosophy. Even clouds were rarely depicted as anything more than pleasant, harmless, or anecdotal, and were most often utilized to hide manufacturing blemishes. In many ways, the arrangements reflected the collective notion of the ?ideal.?

In this series I have decided to sample the sampled images for the opposite reason as originally intended- to focus the viewer rather than provide an escape from reality. The paintings in a modern day context show the overwhelming force of a timeless manifest destiny, the resulting loss of culture, and the exhaustion caused by unimaginable hardships. Filled with unheroic heroes, whose dreams of conquest drove them to ransack, enslave, and colonize, the original compositions can become unwelcome reminders of what may lie within us. It seems impossible to think that such well thought out ideals, as uncomfortable as they may seem when viewed through a modern lens, are not still preoccupying the Human psyche.

I have broken many of the laws that governed the scenic wallpaper compositions in order to seduce a modern viewer into the painting. The skies are no longer meant to hide blemishes, but rather to expose them. The colors are not balanced, but are accentuated to heighten dramatic plots. The violence is not glossed over, but glittered. I intend the images to be beautiful and uncomfortable at the same time. The resolution of the series lies in deciphering the dissonant harmonies of Human motives to one?s own satisfaction.

Nicole Gordon, 2003