True to her trade as visual artist and interior decorator, Nicole Asares’ work revolves around outlining the figures of various subjects with the use of continuous textured lines. From afar her paintings look like a mere melange of quirky characters and objects, but upon closer examination, one cannot help but wonder at the meticulous amount of detail put into the contours of the figures that make up her oeuvre. It’s one thing to paint with astounding realism, but another thing to create your own world, and with lines at that. In her world, lines are anything but linear.
So perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that one of her paintings was named after the Italian artist Piero Fornasetti. A maverick of an artist, Fornasetti was known for his versatility as a painter, which means to say that he never subscribed to any singular style. Instead, he derived inspiration from a diverse range of sources, making it difficult to classify him into an artistic movement. With the exception of her very distinct designs, the same can be said of Asares’ works. At first glance, each of her pieces seems to contain the element of randomness; that is, before the viewer realizes that her compositions are better than the sum of their parts.
Her artworks are as peculiar as they go. As seen in Fornasetti, she is capable of paying homage to a luminary with whom she seems to share a few of the stylistic elements she uses. But even her unique visual aesthetic doesn’t prevent her from dabbling with different themes. With the Rubix Cube’s brighter, neon-like color palette, one gets the impression of being transported to a digital society, a virtual world. same entrancing aura is evident in Megapop, an amalgamation of familiar characters in art, television and video games, fused together with an assortment of objects and symbols that any observer has most likely encountered before (this one’s sure to appeal to lovers of pop culture). Finally, Paragon’s stark blend of modernity and antiquity is also sure to be an eye-opener. Much like the way Asares juxtaposes her loopy, hypnotic lines and vibrant colors with the great symbols and figures of history that serve as high ideals, her artworks - likewise - are greatly representative of where past and present collide, making them a great addition to any modern or traditional home.
