September 3 – 30, 2024
Carbonear, Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland)
Nicole Sleeth is a Canadian figurative oil painter whose work centers the female gaze as an exploration of power, connection, and lived experience. She brings a classical understanding of the human form and oil painting to her contemporary representations of the nude female figure.
Sleeth explores themes of intimacy, desire, gender and sexuality, body image, and self-consciousness. Her works create a powerful tension between the real and the ideal, calling into question the expectations imposed on women, both externally and from within. They demonstrate a longing for a liberated self, at times competing with an acute awareness of the viewer and the viewed. Subtle, shimmering skin tones create a sense of tactile closeness, with large-scale paintings taking on a commanding bodily presence.
Since 2010, Sleeth’s paintings have been exhibited in Canada and the United States, showing alongside works by Lucien Freud and Alex Colville, among others. Her work is in private collections in Canada, the United States, England, Argentina, and Singapore. She lives and works in Carbonear, Newfoundland.