nikki nolan

Other People's Vacations

[curator's statement]

Traveling conjures an early sentimentality. Even before we land or see the destination on the horizon from the window, we’ve already imagined the scenes we’ll gather. As we suddenly enter the unfamiliar, we’re quick to gather pleasures and share them — exhibiting sylvan landscapes and small details seen so much more clearly in a new place.

Stepping back from the fleeting, hyper casual way vacation photos are shared on social media, and remembering even further how photographs were passed around precious photo albums, these paintings call back to add a sense of permanence to memory, to momentary joy.

While we run the risk of exhausting FOMO in being a voyeur to other people’s vacations, it comes with the reward of delighting in seeing first-hand footage of far-away adventures and new worlds we might step into one day. We can remember the exhilarating feelings of our own past journeys. Maybe in front of these paintings, we can stand there for a bit longer.