Nicole's paintings are very textural and built up over long periods of time. The superimposition of textures, images, words, loose, watery washes of paint and veils of translucent fabric or paper, creates a visual threshold in her work which is something to look at as well as to look through. These surfaces retain or reveal a “memory “ of preexisting stages or structures. The result is a palimpsest, in which some images, colors, textures are obfuscated, while others remain visible, however shaped or shaded by previous or subsequent gestures, images or events. Painting for Nicole serves as a metaphor for the phenomenon of recollection. Her process of painting mimics or simulates the process of remembering with all its layers and numerous textures. Hopefully, introducing into this process images that come out of our cultural memory will result in paintings that will not only serve to illuminate the past but will also encourage interpretations which function as starting points themselves.
