Exhibition Review: Nadezda Nikolova: Elemental Forms
Nadezda Nikolova, Elemental Forms, Landscape no. 157, "Elemental Forms" series, 2021. Unique wet plate collodion 20.3 × 25.4 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Esther Woerdehoff.
Written by Wenjie (Demi) Zhao
Photo Edited by Haley Winchell
Time and imaginary landscape unfold in Galerie Esther Woerdehoff’s new exhibition Elemental Forms in Paris. On view from February 2 to March 25, the exhibition features stellar works of the emerging Croatian-Bulgarian-American photographic artist Nadezda Nikolova. Inspired by the redwood forests of San Francisco Bay and her background in Environmental Science, Nikolova’s works embody the power of nature. Combined with ancient 19th-century art-making techniques and phototrophic printing processes such as wet plate collodion, Nikolova calls the audience to a spiritual resonance and contemplation with the natural world.
In conversation with a plethora of art forms, such as photography, collage, and drawing, Nikolova seeks to reveal her spontaneous and ineffable creative experience in the finished work and inspire the viewer to meditate in the floating world she created with brushes and layers in the darkroom. The landscape she presents in Elemental Forms does not pertain to the figurative replication of real-world scenes. Rather, Nikolova draws spiritual nutrients from daily observations of the natural world to create a new landscape full of imagination and infinite possibilities on the metal plate. Using light, no camera, chemical reactions, paper cutouts, and cliché verre, Nikolova’s intuitive, creative process sparks numerous wonder and reverie.
Nadezda Nikolova, Elemental Forms, Landscape Rearticulated no.15, "Elemental Forms" series, 2021. Unique wet plate collodion 40.6 × 40.6 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Esther Woerdehoff.
In Landscape Rearticulated no.15, a unique juxtaposition is in focus. The mythical hillocks stretch out against the sky. Copper and black form a subtle contrast. From the extreme purity on the left to the starry sky on the right, Nikolova’s natural landscape opens the portal to the unknown. Traces of different textures enrich the layers and depth of her work. Speckled, solid black, shimmering light and stars, Nikolova invites the viewer to enter a world of contemplative tranquility and eternity. Her combination of motion and static, the interweaving of reality and fantasy, the borders between imagination and reality melt gradually in this galaxy of ultimate abstraction.
Serene, mysterious, and introspective, each of Nikolova’s works are unique and cannot be reproduced. The passage of time is crystallized in each frame. The balance and rhythm are explored in the tonal range. The organic forms straddle between the figurative and abstract. Having exhibited nationally and internationally, Nikolova’s works reach a wide range of audiences and have a lasting impact. In her fantasy landscape, mountains, lakes, and trails lead us to think about the relationship between our state of being and nature. Now based in Oakland, California, Nikolova’s imaginary landscape flows unobstructedly across borders to Paris in the 15th arrondissement at 36 rue Falguière. In her contemporary work, immediacy and primordial power come from the shared memory of humanity’s distant past. Being fully present and immersed in her landscape, we are connected in awe and wonder as viewers.
Nadezda Nikolova, Elemental Forms, Landscape no. 137, "Elemental Forms" series, 2021. Unique wet plate collodion, 20.3 × 25.4 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Esther Woerdehoff.
