About Nick Savides
Nick Savides learned to paint from his mother at three years old and hasn’t stopped since. Inspired by the works of Edward Hopper, the quiet energy within his art captures a palpable sensation of both light and place. The paintings’ range encompasses urban scenes and architecture, landscapes, the figure and portraiture.
After studying under Paul Georges at Brandeis University, Nick began a career as a Realist painter. Starting out, he focused on paintings of people in interior settings, drawing on Jan Vermeer as an influence. It was then that the effects of light became ─ and stayed ─ a key ingredient in his paintings. The paintings capture a sense of time and place with a certain understatement, as many of the titles would suggest, such as “Wall Street – Early Morning” or “Grand Canyon at Sunrise”. They grip you by inviting you in with the familiar and showing you more than you expected. As Val Schaffner writes, “Beyond the carefully rendered beauty, complexity, and calm of his art, there is mystery: a sense of something about to be discovered.”
Since his first solo show in 1980, he has exhibited in many group and solo shows in New York City, as well as Massachusetts, Long Island, Upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Toronto. His work is included in numerous private and public collections, and was featured on June Middleton’s “Minding Your Business,” which aired on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network in 2010. Twice published by Nabi Press, he had a retrospective of his work at the Berkeley College Gallery in 2012, was selected for the cover of the 2015 William & Mary Review, and has recently been published in ArtVoices Art Books’ 2016 “101 Contemporary Artists” and the John Natsoulas Press’ 2018 “10th Annual Art of Painting”.
Nick lives and paints in Brooklyn.
New Brunswick Art Salon 2019 – Watercolor & Mixed Media: “Ephemeral Visions”
New Brunswick Art Salon 2020 – All Media: “Configured Personas”
Artist Personal Website: nicksavides.com
Email: info@nicksavides.com
Artist Statement
My paintings have a calming effect, but with a quiet intensity. There is a stillness about them, as if time was slowed down, and then suspended. I’m inspired by the effects of light and the drama created by light. Influenced by artists such as Johannes Vermeer and Edward Hopper, I strive to create paintings that capture a sense of time and place, making that moment eternal. They draw you in with the familiar and invite you to interpret the story behind them. The artistic process is a journey reflecting life’s journey — one of discovery and expression. Each painting that I make is a stop on that journey that I would like to share and make a connection.
My paintings are inspired by the people I’ve known, and the places I’ve lived and traveled to. I am interested in the relationship between people and their environment. Although they are often set in public spaces and feature well known icons, each one is a deeply personal statement and a celebration of the beauty of nature and humanity.