May 11 - June 16, 2024
H-E-B Gallery
Reception Saturday, May 11, 5-7pm
Nichole Gronvold-Roller’s geometric-shaped canvases embrace contemporary art practices of relevant pluralism. These works are a union of fine art, architecture, and design, referencing underlying themes in art history mixing and merging concepts. While acknowledging the foundations of 20th-century geometric abstraction, her objective is to explore beyond the restrictions of minimalism and revisit the original discourse that sparked its inquiry.
In the exhibition “A Quiet Saunter,” Nichole selectively incorporates hard-edged elements from the late 1950s and early 1960s, influencing the shaped canvas movement. However, she openly challenges its history of minimalism, unadorned/ unmodulated planes of color, and rejection of the illusion of space.
In contrast, she selects symbolic colors heavily embellished by patterns found in domestic spaces, emphasizing the history of wallpaper, starting with the Arts and Crafts movement in the 1960s and 1970s and continuing to current happenings. The edges of her artwork define a rotation of deep and shallow areas, creating an impression of space. Incorporating ornate motifs and flat planes of color, inviting the viewer to pause—to linger, accompanying the rhythm of daily happenings.
Nichole Gronvold-Roller is a painter who received a BFA in Art Education from Minnesota State University of Moorhead, an MA in Art Education from Boston University, and an MFA in Painting from Bradley University. In addition to being an artist, Nichole is a full-time high school art teacher in Tremont, IL, where she has been teaching for the past twenty-six years. Furthermore, she is a contributor writer for the Inland Art column with Community Word.
A selection of recent group and solo exhibitions include New Optics, The Painting Center, New York, NY (2020); Nonobjective, Contemporary Art Center, Peoria, IL (2020); Ensemble: Together Again, The Painting Center, New York, NY (2020); Up Down and Through, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA (2020); Pathways, McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, IL (2021); Seen but not Felt, Bradley University Galleries, Peoria, IL (2021); Pendulum, Anne Lloyd Gallery of the Madden Arts Center, Decatur, IL (2022), The Shape Maker, BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA (2022); The Painting Center Benefit 2023, Painting Center, New York, NY (2023) Flip Flap Fold, Bradley University, Peoria, IL (2023) New Gallery Artists, Gilded Pear, Cedar Rapids, IA (2023) Mudhouse Exhibition and Artist Residency, Crete, Greece (2023), Beyond Painting, Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC (2023) and Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, WI (2024).
Upcoming events include exhibitions at Studio Break, West Chicago, IL (2024), Everwood Farmstead Foundation’s Artist Retreat (2024), and Chateau d'Orquevaux Artist Residency Orquevaux, France (2025).
A selection of publications featuring Gronvold-Roller’s paintings includes Refrigerator Poetry (New York, NY) Dubuque Museum of Art (Dubuque, IA), Artforum (New York, NY), Wall Street International (Budya, Montenegro), Peoria Journal Star, (Peoria, IL), GRAFIX® (Maple Heights, OH), Inside Publications (Sacramento, CA), and Kolaj Magazine.
Artist representation at BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA; The Gilded Pear, Cedar Rapids, IA; J. Nunez Gallery, Millburn, NJ; James May Gallery, Milwaukee, WI; and Banz Studios, Cincinnati, OH. Artwork may also be found at The Painting Center (Art File), New York, NY, Muse Gallery, Morton, IL, and Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, IL.