A Sense of Wonder Exhibition at Pascal Hall

I'm back from Iceland now (much more on that soon) and I'm very excited to announce a new solo exhibition coming up very soon -- next week, in fact! "A Sense of Wonder" includes a wide variety of my work (really, some of almost everything, including Iceland prints fresh off the printer). The exhibition will be at the beautiful Pascal Hall in Rockport, Maine, a place I've always thought would be perfect for my work. 

The exhibition starts next Wednesday, August 8th and extends through August 19th. I'll be manning the gallery myself during the gallery hours of Wednesday-Sunday, 1-5 pm. We'll have an opening reception on Friday, August 10th, 5-7 pm, and I'll give an artist talk on August 16th at 5:30.

I can't wait to see how it all comes out, and hope to see you sometime during the show!

Cosmos Exhibition at PhoPa Gallery

I'm incredibly excited about my upcoming exhibition at Portland's PhoPa Gallery that opens next week. The exhibition, entitled Cosmos, will have over twenty framed pieces from multiple of my bodies of work.

The exhibition goes from June 13th through July 28th, with an opening reception on Thursday, June 14th, from 5-7 pm. I'll give an artist talk on Wednesday, June 27th, from 5:30-6:30 pm. Hope to see everyone there!

The Door Between Exhibition at Maine Media Gallery

Euclidean Sonata #1

Opening today at the Maine Media Gallery in Rockport is a new exhibition of handmade works (photographs and books) from a variety of artists, including two photographs from myself. My two cyanotypes are from my new Euclidean Sonata in my Harmony of the Spheres project. I definitely look forward to seeing all of the displayed work. The opening is tonight, August 16th, from 5-6:30 pm, and the exhibition extends until October 6th.

Cosmos Exhibition at Camerawork Gallery

I'm very excited to announce that a solo exhibition of my work, entitled Cosmos, has just opened at the Camerawork Gallery in Portland, Oregon. The exhibition extends until August 25th. Cosmos includes 20 larger pieces from my Adventures in Celestial Mechanics and Harmony of the Spheres projects, and I love how the combination of the two projects came out.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest and get a chance to check out the exhibition, let me know what you think!

Soho Photo Gallery National Photography Competition

Prelude #4

I'm a bit late in mentioning this, but one of my pieces is included in the National Photography Competition exhibition at the Soho Photo Gallery in NYC. I'm particularly excited that juror Aline Smithson awarded my photograph the Third Place price as well. I wasn't able to make it to the opening, but if you are in NYC you can see the exhibition through July 22nd.

Nightvisions 2017 Exhibition

Ouroboros #1

Three of my newest pieces are in the Nightvisions 2017 exhibition at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona. The three pieces are from Ouroboros, part of my Harmony of the Spheres project. The exhibition opens to the public tonight and the exhibition will continue until July 29th. I wish I could see this one in person!

Exhibition at Carver Hill Gallery in Rockland, ME

Untitled #15, East of the Sun, West of the Moon project

Eleven pieces from my East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Codex Natura projects will be on display at Carver Hill Gallery in Rockland starting this Friday, with an opening reception from 5-8 pm. The opening for the exhibition is First Friday in Rockland so there will be all kinds of great shows to see - I hope to see you there!

Opening at Boston Athenaeum April 5th

Next Wednesday night I'll be at an opening at the Boston Athenaeum for the New England on Paper opening exhibition that includes two of my pieces from their collection. The exhibition will go from 5:30-7:30 pm on Wednesday, April 5th. I look forward to seeing what should be a great exhibition!

Celestial Solo Exhibition at Unity College

We just installed a solo exhibition of my work at the Unity College Center for Performing Arts in Unity, Maine. I'm excited about this show as it presents pieces from all five of my bodies of work for a total of 23 pieces.

There will be a reception on April 13th from 4-6 pm, and I've included the press release below:

Friday, March 10, 2017 to Sunday, April 16, 2017

The Leonard R Craig Gallery at Unity College presents:

Jim Nickelson: “Celestial”

A show of work by Jim Nickelson. The show will run from March 9th to April 16th.

A reception for the artist will be held April 13th from 4:00-6:00 PM. Refreshments will be provided. The reception is free and open to the public. 

In his work, Jim Nickelson creates photographs based on his interest in science and nature, with particular interest in the way we as a species grapple with the unknown and our relationship to the Universe. The exhibition includes work from five distinct bodies of work.

Adventures in Celestial Mechanics centers upon the full moon and the way various cultures relate to its cycles through naming conventions. Pyrotechnic studies natural forms found in abstracted fireworks, reminiscent of how we find familiar forms and comfort wherever we look. East of the Sun, West of the Moon explores landscapes evocative of fairy tale and myth, tools we have used for millenia to explain the unknown. Codex Natura addresses forms in nature suggestive of the shared celestial origin of all matter on Earth. Harmony of the Spheres is inspired by the idea, dominant for two thousand years among thinkers ranging from Pythagoras to Aristotle to Plato to Kepler, that objects spin in the night sky to create celestial music in harmonious relationship with each other, the natural world, and the human soul.

For more information contact Ben Potter, Professor of Art / Curator of the Leonard R. Craig Gallery at 207-509-7239, or e-mail bpotter@unity.edu

Pairings Exhibition at 555 Gallery in Boston

Pyrotechnic #141, Copyright Jim Nickelson

My work is included in the new and interesting group exhibition at 555 Gallery through April 30th. The exhibition, entitled "Pairings", includes curated pairings of fine art photography and contemporary furniture.

Order and Chaos Exhibition at Eastern Kentucky University

"Prelude #3", from my Harmony of the Spheres project

I'm pleased to announce that a piece from my Harmony of the Spheres project will be included in the Order and Chaos exhibition at the Giles Gallery at Eastern Kentucky University as part of their Chautauqua Art Exhibition series. There is an opening reception this Thursday, Jan. 26th, from 5-7 pm, but I unfortunately will be unable to attend. The exhibition extends from Jan. 23rd through February 22nd.

Celestial Exhibition at Kingman Gallery

I'm very excited to announce a solo exhibition of my work at the Kingman Gallery in Deer Isle, ME. The exhibition, entitled "Celestial", extends from July 21st through August 14th with an opening reception this coming Sunday, July 24th, from 2-5 pm. Information about the hours and such for the gallery are below or on its website.

One of the exciting things about this exhibition for me is that it features photographs from my five primary bodies of work -- the full moon photographs of Adventures in Celestial Mechanics, the abstracted fireworks of Pyrotechic, the dark abstracts of nature evocative of the shared celestial origins of everything on Earth in Codex Natura, the circular landscapes inspired by fairy tale and myth of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and my newest project, the celestial motion captured in Harmony of the Spheres.

I can't wait to see how the show looks and hope to see you there at the opening reception on Sunday!

Danforth Art Museum Juried Exhibition

I somehow neglected to mention that I have a piece from my East of the Sun, West of the Moon project in the current Juried Exhibition at the Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, MA. The exhibition extends until August 21st and it should be an excellent one.

Harmony of the Spheres (and a brief exhibition at PhoPa)

I'm very excited to announce my newest body of work, Harmony of the Spheres. It is one I've been thinking about and struggling with for years, and I've finally started to crack it. This is very much just the beginning, too -- here in my underground lair I'm already working on new variations of this. Using motion of celestial objects such as stars as my source, I'm inspired by myriad things such as classical views of the Universe, music, and printmaking.

You can see the first photographs from the series here, and you can read my project statement here.

This work will be exhibited in a group exhibition at PhoPa Gallery in Portland, ME, as part of the Maine Media Student Exhibition (I worked on this project as I was auditing the Projects course). I'll be at the opening in Portland Friday 5-7 pm, and the exhibition extends from June 1st - June 11th. I've seen everyone's work develop during the course and there are some truly wonderful photographs in this show, so definitely check it out if you are in the Portland area.

Your Daily Photograph

Your Daily Photograph is an international online gallery that features daily photographs from all over the world. Very soon (tomorrow? next week?) one of my photographs will be featured on the site, courtesy of guest curator Elin Spring. You can find out more on Elin's blog. There is definitely some interesting and good work featured on the site, so it is worth taking a look!

New York Center for Photographic Art

"Codex Natura #17"

I'm excited to be included in an exhibition in NYC opening this coming weekend (which I won't be able to attend, unfortunately). The exhibition, originated by the New York Center for Photographic Art and hosted at the Jadite Gallery, is based on the Macro - 2015 exhibition. I have two pieces from my Codex Natura project in the show, with one first prize and one juror's selection. 

I'm also happy to report that one of my photographs was a juror's selection in the Same But Different 2016 exhibition, which you can see online here.

An Ordinary Day: Seeing the Unseen Exhibition in Belfast, ME

Codex Natura #15

Tomorrow night an exhibition opens at the Fernald Gallery of the Hutchinson Center in Belfast, ME. I'll be there during at least part of the opening (it extends from 5-7 pm). There should be quite a bit of wonderful work in this show, so if you are a fan of abstract photography I'm sure you'll enjoy the show.

I've attached a flyer below with more information. I'll be showing three pieces from my Codex Natura series. Hope to see you there!

LAUNCH opening at 555 Gallery in Boston

East of the Sun, West of the Moon #4, Jim Nickelson

Boston's 555 Gallery is experimenting again with their Launch exhibition opening this weekend (opening reception from 5-8 pm on Saturday, January 23rd) and my work will be included. The show will continue until February 20th.

Susan Nalband is combining large framed pieces with smaller, lower cost limited edition loose prints. You can read more about it here on Neal Rantoul's blog as well as here on Elin Spring's blog. Here's the show description:

The Launch Exhibition is a group exhibition featuring work by several current and new gallery artists. The Launch Project is an opportunity for new and seasoned collectors making the breakthrough to collecting the work of a favorite artist or piece of their work, and building on it in an affordable purchasing program. Fine Art Photographs are being offered in small editions, in some cases of 2, 3 or 4 only, in prices from under $200 to under $500, as well as full size artist’s framed work in the gallery at traditional gallery prices.

Launch features new or rarely exhibited work by artists:

Bob Avakian, Deb Ehrens, David Mattox, Jim Nickelson, Neal Rantoul, John Rizzo, Gail Samuelson, Heather Evans Smith, Jean Sousa, Mary Ellen Strom, Sarah Szwajkos, Christine Triebert, Jane Yudelman

Gibbs Library Exhibit in Washington, Maine

"Kindly Moon II", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

I'm pleased to announce that I have a new exhibition up for January and February at the Gibbs Library in Washington, Maine. The Gibbs Library has a dedicated space for art exhibits and does a great job providing a variety of exhibitions for its patrons.

Included in the exhibition are 10 of my pieces from my Pyrotechnic, Adventures in Celestial Mechanics, and Nightfall projects. I'll include the press release below, and you can find out more about the hours and location of the exhibition if you are interested here.

Here's the press release:

WASHINGTON VILLAGE — The Gibbs Library will exhibit the work of Jim Nickelson, a coastal photographer. The exhibit will open Thursday, Jan. 7, and run through Tuesday, March 1.

Nickelson is a photographer whose work is driven by an interest in science, whether it be work based on the passage of time, work motivated by natural rhythms and cycles and patterns, work exploring the mysteries of nature, or work simply inspired by the wonder of the natural world, according to a news release from the library.

Included in this exhibition is work from his Adventures in Celestial Mechanics series. This series is based on a quest to capture each of full moon of the year, at moonrise or moonset, from somewhere in the Maine landscape. Moonrise and the cycles of the moon happen endlessly, month after month, year after year, and their repetitive nature results in many become numb to the magic of the moon hanging above, and this project hopefully reignites in viewers a passion and interest in the passage of the moon though the sky and its importance to peoples throughout history.

Also included in this exhibition is work from Jim’s Pyrotechnic series, which explores how fireworks, as a quintessentially man-made object, mirrored many aspects of the natural world once they were abstracted to their basic forms. The incongruity of the noisy, ephemeral, and commonplace fireworks bringing to mind beautiful and delicate forms from nature continues to inspire this ongoing project.

Gibbs Library hours are 4-7 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m.-noon and 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, 3-6 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. 

For more information, call 845-2663.

Abstract Exhibition at Filter Space in Chicago

Pyrotechnic #141

I'm a bit late in announcing this, but I'm very pleased to be included in current Abstract exhibition at Filter Space that is part of the Filter Festival in Chicago. The exhibition was jurored by Debra Klomp Ching. 

The exhibition extends until October 22nd, 2015. I wish I could see it in person, but if you are in Chicago and want to forget about the Bears season, the show should be great.