30 Dec Frieze London – Nick Goss
As I am writing the last post of 2022 on this website, I knew all along it would be about a transfixing experience I had upon visiting Frieze London for the first time. Going into the fair and knowing how overwhelming the visit would be, as there were so many artworks on display by a variety of artists, I tried to have something resembling of a plan ahead. I wanted to divide our visit into three time slots: the first would be the the works of artists we are familiar with and have seen beforehand on our other trips, then right after we would finally see in real life artworks of some artists we have been following online for a long time and then, for the most part of our visit, just get lost in all the maze and discover art, as I am still fairly new to the contemporary art world. Once again, I was reminded that no matter how well I map out my visit, it just doesn’t work like that with art. As we were making our way to a booth we were eager to see, we were suddenly spellbound by Nick Goss ‘s solo presentation at the Josh Lilley Gallery stand.
It’s such an exhilarating moment when you encounter art that it so good that it makes you forget about all your plans or even the concept of time. The color palette had a powerful impact on me from afar, I think this combination of blues and purple might be the only one that is able to instantly transfer me into a pensive state. What I couldn’t have foreseen, however, was how the technique the artist employs would change my rapport to a figurative painting. As you may know, I’m a doctor, I don’t have a degree in art, so I was purely enthralled with how the works resembled watercolor paintings on the massive canvases. I learned afterwards Nick Goss uses screen print, distemper and oil on canvas.
As I spent the most time in front of Sundowner at first, trying to grasp all the details and the faded elements, there was one point I realized what truly felt different about the whole experience. As I see a figurative painting for the first time, there’s always that moment when my mind wonders what was the event that inspired it, or what memory of the artist’s life it recollects. Instead, I was experiencing something new: although I have never seen the bar, it felt so familiar that I somehow transported myself mentally in that state, I was a client waiting for that purple cocktail in the back, while musing on the meaning of life. The voice of my partner brought me back to reality, he made an observation how even the wooden frames were perfect, and that’s when it hit me that Nick Goss had gifted me, the viewer, the rare occasion of living a bit in the artwork’s universe as if it had been my own. Not for one second had I wondered what time in history it depicted, what region would be revealed outside the window or what the weather was on the day the action was taking place. I was, for some meaningful moments, stuck in a beautiful reverie.
On the right of the Sundowner you could find 3am Somewhere, which came with the epiphany the Nick Goss is as artist who masters atmosphere. I have to confess I have always found it more difficult to connect to a painting depicting interiors. Nature and cityscapes, I could marvel at many of them all day long, yet it was never the same when it came to regarding the inside of a room. I’m guessing it has to do with the feeling of intimacy indoors bring, often times I feel like an intruder instead of being able to absorb the ambience of the painted universe. One of the contemporary artists which really made me learn to appreciate the interiors is Ana Maria Micu and I have written about her artistic practice here. Looking at yet another scene of the inside of a bar, I felt comfortable. And even though there is a clock placed on the exquisite tiles, which also reflects on the countertop and even the title of the artwork references the time, I never thought for one second whether I was glancing at the past, the present or even an envisioned future. As you look up close, you notice the way Nick Goss builts up in layers, some of them washed and faded, this atemporal universe that brought a pleasant reassurance into my life.
You will notice how different it is when you see the photos of the details in this post. I tried to include more than usual, because the textures I’ve encountered on the canvases enhanced the whole experience, I have such vivid memories just by looking at the close-ups. I hope I will have the opportunity to see more of Nick Goss ‘s works in my lifetime. Perhaps it was precisely the proximity, thus being able to observe each grain on the surface, that made the ethereal universe seem tangible at times.
Heading into the new year, I wish everyone reading as many revelatory moments as discovering Nick Goss ‘s art has brought me that day. Looking at the photos, I am transported back to that meditative place, and the meticulous manner the artist employs as he carefully adds one layer on top of the other will also serve as inspiration for the way I need to approach some important matters in my life.
All photos taken by © Adrian Cojocaru
No Comments