Nicole Chesney
Artist Statement
Warm breadth on cool glass, the play of cast shadows and light on a wall, falling feathers, a whisper—mysterious, gentle signs of life that invoke visceral, emotive responses. I imbue my paintings with their own distinct vitality similar to these subtle, often unnoticed whispers. Created from layers of oil paint on etched, mirrored glass, these paintings envelope viewers in a seductive, mysterious space. Their reflective, shining, richly saturated surfaces are unapologetic in their beauty and desirous, jewel-like appeal.

Art historically, I am inspired by numerous varied sources, some of which include:
Giorgio Morandi’s depictions of light and shadow; the soft, shimmering paintings of
James McNeil Whistler; J.M.W. Turner’s landscapes; the emotive color fields of Mark Rothko; the subtle marks of Agnes Martin; the exploration of perception by artists associated with the Light and Space movement; and the sculptures of Anish Kapoor.
While I take influence from various artists associated with Abstract Expressionism, my work in many ways reacts against the noisy, boisterous paintings championed by the protagonists of that movement. Rather, my work explores and in turn reveals the
understated, ephemeral aspects of our world—whispers, innuendo, and intimacy—and offers a space for their contemplation.

"Tree House" Dorm Installation at MassArt: Kairos
MassArt commissioned Chesney to install a large-scale site-specific artwork for the campus’ new “Tree House” residence, the 21-story, 493 bed dormitory building at 621 Huntington Avenue that opened in the Fall of 2012.  The building was designed by ADD Inc, and was inspired by Gustav Klimt’s The Tree of Life.  The Tree House has won numerous design awards and has permanently altered the Boston skyline along the Avenue of the Arts.  The Tree House is a refreshing, artful and sustainable dormitory building that provides a platform for artistic dialogue and interdisciplinary exchange. 
 
The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, kairos signifies a time in between, a moment or undetermined period of time in which something special happens. What that is depends on who is using the word. While chronos is quantitative, kairos has a qualitative nature. In Panathenaicus, Isocrates writes that educated people are those “who manage well the circumstances which they encounter day by day, and who possess a judgment which is accurate in meeting occasions as they arise and rarely misses the expedient course of action”. Kairos is also very important in Aristotle’s scheme of rhetoric. Kairos is, for Aristotle, the time and space context in which the proof will be delivered. Kairos also means weather in both ancient and Modern Greek.  Additionally, in plural, it is kairoi and means “the times”.

Kairos is a site-specific and permanent installation in the lobby of MassArt’s Tree House. The main wall of the lobby is ideally suited for wall-mounted artwork thus providing a focal point for a space that serves simultaneously as an entry area, a gathering place, and passageway. Framed by a glass curtain wall, this site offers a unique opportunity for multiple vantage points making the best use of the building design and natural light while being equally captivating at night. Kairos is at once a buoyant threshold through which residents pass and an ever-changing play of light and color experienced by those traveling along Huntington Avenue.  
 
Chesney’s largest work to date, Kairos measures approximately 11 feet high by 85 feet long, it is 800 square feet and weighs 8,000 pounds. Comprised of 39 laminated glass panels, each installed at an angle within the two-inch sill in front of a mirrored wall, Kairos plays upon several suggestive references in its physical installation. The serial imagery of an accordion book, the gentle angle of an open book’s spine and the structure of a lenticular lens all influence the rhythm of the glass panels. A lenticular lens produces an image with the illusion of depth or an image that appears to change or move when viewed from different angles. Only glass transmits light in such a dynamic and captivating manner- no other single material can convey such a range of qualities as reflection, luminosity, translucence and brilliance. The use of mirror conjures an equally rich spectrum of notions like desire, introspection, revelation and longing. Kairos captures fleeting moments of light over time and embodies the qualitative nature of one’s experience at MassArt.