12 May – 31 August 2025
The Holburne is delighted to present Copper & Dust, a new exhibition by Nicolas Party (b.1980, Lausanne, Switzerland). The presentation brings together oil paintings on copper, works on linen and a new large-scale, site-specific mural, executed in soft pastels in the Holburne’s Picture Gallery.
Steeped in art historical consideration and research, Party’s paintings are stylistically cohesive, graceful and idiosyncratic. While more recent works have incorporated intricate oil paintings on copper, Party is well-known for his soft pastel works on paper and linen, along with site-specific public murals and immersive installations. The latter are influenced by his early work as a graffiti artist, his training in graphic design and 3D animation, and his love of 18th century pastels, examples of which feature in the Holburne collection.
At the Holburne, Party’s intimate oil on copper works, comprising landscapes, still-lifes and portraits, will be shown in two intimate cabinet galleries. Their archaic technique takes its cue from paintings by 17th century painters such as Rembrandt, with the substrate providing a smooth surface which can accommodate intricate detail. Party’s new mural responds specifically to the 17th century work, A Brawl between Peasants by Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp (1612–1652), a Dutch painter famed for his allegorical oil panels and landscapes, influenced by his contemporary Rembrandt’s use of dramatic light and shade. Party became interested in the work following extensive research into the Holburne’s collection after visiting in 2023, and it will be on display in the Holburne’s Collections Gallery.
As well as recreating other artists’ work, this practice of re-engagement sees Party referencing his own, earlier work. Many copper works travelling to the show are copies of his older pastels, so that the exhibition might be seen as a mini retrospective.
Party applies his soft pastels by hand, using his fingertips to carve out forms and blend colours. The artist has commented on the medium: “Pastel is a very different way to work with colours. If you work with paint, you kind of imagine a colour or you work with a colour while you’re doing it. You have to make it to see it. In pastel, it’s right there.”
Portraiture, which has occupied Party for over a decade, will form a key component of the exhibition. Party’s portraits deal with a set of aesthetic ideals and take their cue from art history. The symmetry of Giotto’s (1267–1337) frescoes in Assisi, Ferdinand Hodler’s (1853–1918) timeless portraits and René Magritte’s (1898–1967) surreal renderings all proved influential on the refined stylings of Party’s images. The artist’s distinctive rendering of form points to his training in graphic design and 3D animation. The physiognomy of his portraits mixes a strange flatness and elegant graphic line, and by removing any extraneous details, he creates space to focus on colour and composition in each work.
Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum, said: “We are so excited to be showing Nicolas Party’s work at the Holburne. With his deep knowledge of the history of art, especially his interest in 17th Dutch painting and in 18th century pastels, both of which feature in the Holburne’s collection, Nicolas’s art will be in a perfect setting. I am especially thrilled to be presenting so many new works and am deeply grateful to Nicolas for this opportunity.”
Image credit: Nicolas Party, Landscape (Copper Version), oil on copper, 2025.