Nicole Duennebier

NEW WEBSITE: http://nicoleduennebier.com/

In my painting I want to create the 'inexplicably overwhelming'. The depiction of the growing mass is my best archetype for this experience. Through putrefaction or fecundity the complicated form of the mass adds to itself and spills forward. The mass operates intractably in the dark, grows beyond its recognizable origin to become grotesque. There is an uneasy combination of textural pleasure and disgust in this germination. While fine white hairs of mold are delicate and beautiful they are the mark of decay and cannot be treasured.

If this mass is dissected further it will reveal inward complications and the translucent vibrating lines of microscopic organisms. Tiny bright forms composed of colored striations undulate under the skin. They serve to keep the whole body living but their individual functions are concealed by ignorance of the mass' original anatomy.

The mass is most often shown with symmetry as a relic or altar. In the mind, all things of importance are pushed towards the center of view. Even if witnessed in the corner of the eye they are remembered with acute symmetry.

Nicole Duennebier was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1983. She received her Bachelor in Fine Arts at Maine College of Art with a major in painting. Her BFA thesis work was most influenced by research about the coastal ecosystems of Maine. In 2006, she was awarded the Monhegan Island Artists Residency. On the island she continued her work with sea life. Duennebier saw a natural connection between the darkness and intricacy of undersea regions and the aesthetic of 16th century Dutch still-life painting. In 2008 she moved to Boston. She has shown most recently in a solo exhibition at the New Britain Museum of American Art as a part of their New/Now series.