Nikolas Soren Goodich
WE NEED MIRRORS TO SEE OURSELVES
November 11, 2023 – January 11, 2024
My Black Grandfather William with my White Grandfather William in a Cosmic Rainbow Mind’s Eye Vision Out of Time and Place and Space (Double Inverted Portrait)
acrylic on plexiglass diptych assemblage on canvas 48” x 96” x 2”, 2023
Prepare to embark on a thought-provoking journey into the nature of identity and human perception. Mixed race visual artist Nikolas Soren Goodich unveils his latest solo installation of luminous two-sided glass works and diptychs on canvas at Gallery 169 (169 W Channel Rd, Santa Monica, CA 90402) from November 11, 2023, to January 11, 2024. An exhibition of new work that challenges and inspires with its profound explorations of the nature of self and consciousness.
Nikolas Soren Goodich, a native of Los Angeles, invites art lovers to dive into the intricate web of identity, with works that serve as mirrors, reflecting not only his own multicultural identity, but also the collective essence of our humanity. Through his unique mono-typing process, Goodich creates profile portraits that, whether invented or discovered, are simultaneously symbolic forms and seemingly real representations of individuals. He skillfully examines the nature of paradox, forcing viewers to question their perceptions of what makes up our identity, our ever-evolving sense of self.
In his two related series, Double Inverted Portraits and Luminous Symmetries, Goodich explores the duality of human perception. Not only are his profile portraits doubled and inverted through an original printmaking process, but they also play with the physiological fact of how our eyes first perceive the world upside down, leaving our brains to correct the image. These works reveal a visual dance, forming questions; what is our perception; what is our reality.
Each set of profile portraits, born from the artist's unique combination of printmaking and painting processes on glass panels, are distinct, revealing subtle differences that mark the passage of time and of personal transformation; reminders that we are constantly changing, evolving beings.
These are multi-layered works, featuring hand mono-printed marks, textures, colors, and forms upon both sides of glass and plexiglass panels. His use of geometric shapes, symbolic elements, visual balance, symmetry, and asymmetry add depth and meaning to each piece. Goodich's art prompts profound questions about identity, perception, and the distinction between the subjective and objective, the real and the metaphorical, the image and the thing itself. He draws inspiration from the archetype of the Roman god Janus, whose doubled-face mirrors the paradoxical nature of our perception and relationship with time; past, present, and future.
At the heart of these paintings is the human eye, the gateway to perceiving our universe, presented as an instrument absorbing electromagnetic waves and light energy, a metaphor brought to life through the layers of glass and luminous paints. Real light and energy flow through the very core of his creations. His works are crafted on multiple layers of plexiglass and glass, then stacked and presented in various formats. Goodich collaborates with master frame makers, fabricators, kiln-fired glass masters, architects, and industrial designers to bring his ambitious vision to life.
While Nikolas Soren Goodich's current studio works captivate, he is busy expanding his artistry into creating a form of socially engaged luminous glass architectural public art. His ultimate goal is to transform the walls, ceilings, and windows of entire buildings with his illuminated two-sided glass paintings. In 2022 he was honored to give a TEDx talk at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s famous Media Lab for TEDx Boston’s inaugural Planetary Stewardship event. On Nov 1, 2023, his Alma Mater, Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, invited him to give an extended version of the talk at The Institute of Contemporary Art in Richmond, Virginia.
This talk at the ICA was the first time Goodich presented his ambitious monumental scale socially engaged luminous glass public art project, The Monroe Park Luminous Community Center to the people of Richmond, where it is being proposed for a historic park in the heart of the city.
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