ON VIEW NOW THROUGH JULY 6, 2025
Modernism is pleased to present "SHOCK whisper," an evocative new series of paintings and installation by artist Alex H Nichols. Rooted in introspection and vulnerability, Nichols’ work explores the fragmented nature of memory, identity, and recovery—inviting viewers into an intimate process of reconstruction and self-discovery.
Through bold yet gentle gestures, Nichols weaves narratives of personal and collective histories. Her paintings begin as fragments—fragments of sentences, fragments of form, fragments of self—and build toward an elusive wholeness. She describes her process as retrieving pieces of herself, creating a world of Indigo. Using a limited palette of ultramarine blue, burnt umber, mars black, and powdered charcoal to plunge into deep, contemplative spaces. Black inside blue. Brushing blue, the excess water falls downward evoking the sensation of memory rising and falling, expanding and contracting, as she confronts the quiet truths of her past.
Nichols’ paintings confront questions of trauma, recovery, and psychological safety: "When I am in shock, I need a space where I can retrieve myself," says Nichols. “Why blue? Blue is the blue rug of my childhood cast in moonlight when everyone is asleep, blue in my childhood is imagination, blue is safety.”
In "SHOCK whisper," viewers encounter not only the visible figures and shapes that emerge from her canvases but also the hidden, internal landscapes they represent. Nichols uses the rich symbolism of blue—reminiscent of the blue rug cast in moonlight from her childhood evoking imagination, dreams, and safety—to create a space of refuge, a contemplative arena for soul retrieval. Here, art becomes a tool for individuation, echoing shamanic traditions and Jungian psychology.
Join us at Modernism West to explore this profound exhibition that asks us all: “how do we gather the fragments of ourselves after shock, whether personal or political, and how do we rebuild?”
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