Nicholas Projects is an independent not-for-profit project space that aims to support artists at all stages of their careers. Nicholas Projects is proud to present Inaugural, featuring works from Natasha Bieniek, Heath Franco, Robert Hague, Tristan Jalleh and Becc Orszag.
The Nicholas Building has a long history of supporting creative projects. One cannot open a space here without contemplating this vast history of housing artists, studios and galleries. Prominent artists have walked through these corridors and worked in these studios; we are fortunate to be informed by these stories. We are excited and proud to contribute to the ever evolving artistic community in the Nicholas Building.
Inaugural is defined as marking the beginning of an activity, period or institution. In the spirit of new beginnings, we have initiated a dialogue with our exhibiting artists regarding their individual studio practices, asking what new beginnings have informed their body of work.
Artist’ practices are always in a state of flux: exploring, evolving and playing. In the lead up to this exhibition, we asked the artists to reflect, and contribute a work that marked a period of change in their practice.
So what marks an inauguration for an artist? What defines a period within an oeuvre? Is a body of work defined by the methodology it is built upon, the medium it was made, or is it simply marked by time? Is a body of work identified by the curator, the gallery or the academic? Or do we become aware of these changes retrospectively, with the distance of time clarifying our thoughts? Is it necessary to distinguish between ‘old and new’? For this exhibition we ask our viewer’s to consider each work as new, regardless of its date, to consider its history, its significance within each artist’s practice.
Throughout this inaugural period, we are excited to talk to each exhibiting artist about periods of change that inform their practice, to initiate a dialogue about the nature of the artist’s relationship to their body of work.