Dacia Gallery - Emanation Group Portrait Exhibition



Avarice by Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings, Oil on Panel, 22x22


AUDACIOUSLY ALICE
Portraits From Wonderland


ALEXANDREA NICHOLAS-JENNINGS

Solo Exhibition
October 13-25, 2024

Opening Reception
Thursday, October 17, 6:00 - 9:00pm

Meet the Artist at Opening Reception
Artist Talk at 8:00pm


ARTIST STATEMENT
Greetings From Wonderland! - After her first tumble down the rabbit hole Alexandrea has been creating Imaginative Realist work under the pseudonym Alice and sometimes Alex in her autobiographical ‘Alex in Wonderland’ series. The people she has met in Wonderland have been odd and absurd and navigating this topsy-turvy world has helped Alex to ‘grow to her rightful size’. ‘Escaping the Rabbit Hole’ was the catalyst , the first of this series after Alex survived a devastating set of losses and began painting it after a surreal experience of ‘falling for seven days’ while bedridden. This inward glance at the "self" depicts a quest to survive. Alex was plunged into the rabbit hole where she was convinced there was no way out. She fights to escape this emotional black hole through the practice of painting; this is her "Wonderland”.This body of work is deeply personal, whimsical and spiritual all at once, while facilitating a mostly primary color palette, vintage icons and antiquities. The brushwork is often looser in these paintings than that found in her academic work, lending itself to the fantastical nature of Wonderland. While one bite makes you small and another might make you tall – eat me – drink me – these are some portraits from my stay in wonderland. Wish you were here! - Audaciously, Alice/Alex


ARTIST BIO
"Years ago, I fell down a rabbit hole; I have been feverishly digging myself out into the light ever since. My "Alex in Wonderland" series serves as that light. It is an autobiographical body of work paralleling the life of Alice to Alex. As life unfolds, so do my paintings. My work is introspective and deeply personal while also universal as it explores "what it means to be human". Feelings of solitude, humility, bliss, regret, rage, contentment to name a few are explored as are the characters that I continue to meet in Wonderland. I am concerned with beauty and aesthetics and surround myself with quirky and unusually beautiful objects while I work; ideas and inspiration are only an arm's reach away. Juxtaposing unexpected objects of whimsy and antiquity with figures from life in order to explain a narrative is compelling to me. I am deliberate in facilitating the traditional and classical methods that I have learned while studying in the Ateliers. Unlike the shadows I am no longer quiet. I thrive when I step into the light. Alice has grown to her rightful size. Alice has waited long enough." - AlexandreaArtist Artist Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings has been designated “Signature Status” from the Portrait Society of America in the Spring of 2024. Alexandrea has also been selected as a “Featured Artist” for Nitram Charcoal. Alexandrea is a Canadian Imaginative Realist artist trained in Classical Realism in both New York City and Toronto. She earned an Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. In addition she also earned an Honors Specialist in Art Education and an Honors Bachelor of Art Education in New York State. The Art Market Magazine honored Alexandrea with an artist interview and an 18 page article in Issue 92 (April 2024). Her self portrait “The Fortune Teller” was published in “The Best of Drawing Magazine” (2023) and Boynes Artist Award granted her winning status for the topic “RED” (Dec 2023). She exhibited two paintings at the Salmagundi Club and one drawing that received the Gwynne Lennon Prize (2023). She has recently exhibited at Dacia Gallery in New York City in the Women Artists Group Exhibition (2023 and 2022). As a result her work was selected for publication in American Art Collector Magazine (March 2023). For the past year she has been a member of the Salmagundi Club of New York and has exhibited there three times. She won "The Best of Portrait" in The Portrait Society of Canada's juried competition entitled "The Miracle of the Portrait" (2022). Alexandrea was invited to write an article for The Portrait Society of America's Journal - "Art of The Portrait" entitled “Learning from the Masters” (2022). Alexandrea was selected to be published in the book entitled “Masterpieces” by The Guide Artists (2022). She was a Finalist in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition (2021). She won the Gold Medal in the OAA Juried Competition at The Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery (2019). She also received the Bronze Medal from The Society of Canadian Artists at The Paper Mill Gallery in Toronto (2019). This past spring Alexandrea exhibited drawings in the J.B. Aird Gallery in Toronto as well as with the Society of Canadian Artists (2024). She was named as a Finalist in the 13th International ARC Salon Competition (2017). In addition she was a double finalist in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition (2017). In 2016 Alexandrea exhibited her work at The Principle Gallery in Virginia. Her work is currently showing at the 111th Annual Allied Artists of America Exhibit at the Butler Institute of Art. She is currently a Finalist in the Richeson 75 Portrait/Figure Competition and her work will appear in November's issue of "The Best of Drawing Magazine" 2024 once again. Alexandrea is a proud member of the Salmagundi Club of New York, the Allied Artists of America, the Portrait Society of America, and the Art Gallery of Ontario.