Elsa in Flight, oil on canvas, 50 x 60
With her bold aesthetic of sharp primary colors, strong geometric spaces, and impressionistic (practically surreal) scenes, Minneapolis-based painter and art educator Nancy Kahlow-Curtis investigates childhood and feminine mythologies.
In works set outdoors, Kahlow-Curtis' impressionism gives itself over to magical realism, with sweeping vistas, eerie landscapes and fairy tale skies. In such works her characters seem oddly attuned to their natural settings, sliding into rhythmic patterns of clouds, mountains, stars and plants. More overtly than in her interior paintings, Kahlow-Curtis posits a kind of natural synergy between human and natural, between character and setting. Indeed, there is a sense of wilderness in such works. In contrast to her controlled geometric interiors, figures in these outdoor paintings seem more impulsive, the emotions rendered in Kahlow-Curtis' beautifully detailed faces somehow more unruly. An unseen presence recurs throughout her paintings, a connecting force her figures seem to be looking for off in the distance.
ARTisSpectrum Magazine, Volume 20, November 2008
In works set outdoors, Kahlow-Curtis' impressionism gives itself over to magical realism, with sweeping vistas, eerie landscapes and fairy tale skies. In such works her characters seem oddly attuned to their natural settings, sliding into rhythmic patterns of clouds, mountains, stars and plants. More overtly than in her interior paintings, Kahlow-Curtis posits a kind of natural synergy between human and natural, between character and setting. Indeed, there is a sense of wilderness in such works. In contrast to her controlled geometric interiors, figures in these outdoor paintings seem more impulsive, the emotions rendered in Kahlow-Curtis' beautifully detailed faces somehow more unruly. An unseen presence recurs throughout her paintings, a connecting force her figures seem to be looking for off in the distance.
ARTisSpectrum Magazine, Volume 20, November 2008
Wrestling Boys, oil on canvas, 80 x 60
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Harvest Moon, oil on canvas, 30 x 36
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Tea Party, oil on canvas, 72 x 50
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Julie with Chairs, oil on canvas, 80 x 76
Nancy Kahlow-Curtis explores children and women figures' mythological legacies in visually arresting compositions that accentuate light and texture. The Minnesota native frequently works with models, but her inspiration generally comes from within, after which she poses her scenes and sets to work. This process of painting from inner vision means certain artworks have taken Kahlow-Curtis decades to develop, but also imbues each one with a magical sense of space and staging. In works with rippling fabrics, thrown shadows, and brilliant lights, she puts her pallet of strong colors to emotive effect, creating moods and conveying atmosphere in a manner that evokes both Giorgio de Chirico's architectural flair and Henri Rousseau's stylized surfaces and forms. Kahlow-Curtis' paintings, however, are first and foremost about her human subjects, the legends they echo and the imaginative possibilities they inspire. Often, her empowering characters are extremely agile and strong, frequently staring outside the canvas as if contemplating the vast options available to them in the world.
Agora Gallery Catalog Review January, 2009
Temple Walk, oil on canvas, 20 x 20
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Child at the Shrine, oil on canvas, 22 x 30
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Saint in the Forest, oil on canvas, 12 x 12
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The Wick, oil on canvas, 60 x 50
Nancy Kahlow understands the importance of self-realization, spirituality, and mystery. Kahlow uses memories and colors from her childhood to inspire her paintings. She does not try to understand the content before it is painted nor to edit the meaning because of self-conscious motives. Her paintings address her own intimate feelings and situation. I experience mystery in many of her works. When I view her painting, The Wick, I share a sense of 'knowing' with the painting. Yet, I do not know the painter. Somewhere we share a common set of experiences. This knowing, but not knowing creates the mystery for me. Nancy Kahlow and I share many of the same cultural and personal experiences of being brought up female in this culture, of marriage, and of mothering. The mummified figure on the right, the figure where only the eyes have life, I recognize from times when I was very ill or times when the burdens of childcare numbed my personal identity. Yet that person is not I. Perhaps it is also not Kahlow. I know it intuitively, but I don't know cognitively.
ArtPaper Forum, Mystery in Art, November, 1985
ArtPaper Forum, Mystery in Art, November, 1985
Adoration, oil on canvas, 54 x 34
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Divine Mother, oil on canvas, 26 x 30
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Womb of the Earth, oil on canvas, 72 x 50
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Daughters of Light, oil on canvas, 42 x 50
Nancy Kahlow's Daughters of Light, the second place winner, is a marriage of superb technique and meaningful effect. Two young girl in dancer's tights are framed against a warehouse window bathed in golden light. Wearing festive masks and mugging frowns, the younger one droops while the older girl poses elegantly. This oil painting is deceptive in its stark beauty and quiet. The polar expressions of joy and sadness, of poise and relaxation, invite our wonder about these daughters. Underneath the guises, who are these apparent sisters, and who do they want to be?
Artscape Magazine April, 1989
All paintings are 15 x 17 framed.
Intuition Angel
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Ocean Dream
Bird Mask
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Garden Relic
Summer Tree
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