Andrea Nichola's paintings deal with the spiritual world • the mythic and the mystic with a highly developed language of symbols that are both personal and yet universal to the human condition. She bravely treads into the darker areas of the collective unconscious to stare unflinchingly at the specters of guilt, remorse, fear and pain. Her language, written in paint, is one of muted shades, dark and drab colors, with sudden explosions of blood reds and fiery oranges. Nichola mixes a love of nature and foliage, with a naive style of portraiture and uses a primitive folk-art technique to reveal complex ideas and dreams from the magic of the imagination. Repeated viewing of her larger canvasses show elements of humor and beauty, beneath the somber, haunting images she paints. Nichola's work is part of an ongoing search for identity in a world without a center • a search that is not only for herself, but for all who face similar puzzles.

W H O said W H A T

With a glowing, bold palette and an innate knack for portraiture, Andrea Nichola holds high the torch passed on by Modern masters such as Jawlensky, Beckman and even the early Rothko. The power arises from both the narrative suggestiveness and the highly individual sense of chromatic harmonies and dissonances that give the works their visual punch. On top of that, Nichola comes up with knockout titles, such as "Temporary Compromise", that recall the textual playfulness and poignance of Magritte.

Charles A. Riley II, PhD, curator, arts journalist and author of The Saints of Modern Art, Color Codes and The Arts in the World Economy.

B I O + E X H I B I T I O N S

Andrea Nichola lives and works in the northside of Pittsburgh, PA. Born in 1964, she made her first painting at13 years, as her mother encouraged creativity and artistic expression.

P A T R O N S

M E M B E R S H I P S

E D U C A T I O N