The exhibition marks the first presentation of the artist’s work in Europe and his second with the gallery. Drawing upon a variety of genres, including portraiture, landscape, and still life, the works in You Know I Used to Love You... examine what it means to say goodbye to people, places, and behaviors. Across the exhibition, Niles employs an expressive color palette as he depicts moments of quiet rupture: experiencing loss and heartbreak, aging, leaving home, giving up habits.
Vividly capturing feeling and mood, the artist draws upon his own experiences primarily as a means of connecting to others. The artist’s works are highly personal in their content, and Niles often depicts emotionally charged memories and scenes as he charts a record of contemporary existence that is simultaneously intimate and collective.
“Painting has been a way for me to approach topics that I felt like I couldn’t talk about growing up and things I feel like we don’t always know how to talk about now,” the artist stated. “I think a lot about how people deal or cope with aging, loneliness, heartbreak, and love. A lot of my paintings are reflections on these things.” – Arcmanoro Niles
