Press
New Art Examiner: Figure of a Gentle Gay Manifesto: “Undercurrents”
Michel Ségard’s New Art Examiner review explores Undercurrents, Nathan Brad Hall’s exhibition at Gallery Victor, as a quietly powerful statement on identity, beauty, and emotional truth. Blending classical technique with contemporary realism, Hall’s male figures affirm queer experience not through provocation, but through tenderness and humanity.
By Michel Ségard
Throughout history, figuration in art has almost always been the carrier of a message—religious, political, or social—beyond the immediate appreciation of the human form. This dual content is what makes studying the depiction of the human figure so interesting, even in our post-modern era. Gallery Victor is known for showing figurative works that have roots in historical realism yet have a contemporary punch. This exhibition of works by Nathan Brad Hall is a prime example. Hall uses all the techniques of realism developed during and since the Renaissance-particularly chiaroscuro, the careful shading of skin to achieve precise modeling or the meticulous rendering of hair. But he mixes these techniques with subtle areas of impasto—to him, a nod to expressionism—to call attention to certain parts of a painting. The results are a series of large dramatic images of nude male figures that speak to much more than the beauty of the male body.
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Chicago Fine Art: NATHAN BRAD HALL - “Undercurrents” at Gallery Victor
In his Chicago Fine Art review, Chuck Gniech praises Nathan Brad Hall’s Undercurrents at Gallery Victor—a stunning exhibition of large-scale figurative works that blend Caravaggio-inspired light with raw emotional intimacy. Gniech highlights Hall’s ability to capture the human form with precision and vulnerability, creating cinematic compositions that reveal the quiet power of introspection.
By Chuck Gniech
I recently received an email from an old friend who wanted to make sure I knew about an exceptional exhibition that just opened at Gallery Victor in Chicago. He thought I’d be interested, given a series of large-scale male figurative paintings I created in the early 2000s—meditative works exploring the moments between sleep and waking. In those paintings, I used dramatic contrasts of light and dark, “chiaroscuro” inspired by my passion for the paintings of the Italian master Caravaggio. Naturally, I was excited to see the exhibition. So, this past weekend, I ventured out to the River North Gallery District to view the large-scale paintings and charcoal drawings of Nathan Brad Hall.
I wasn’t disappointed. The exhibition is visually stunning—filled with atmosphere, nuance, and a sensitivity to the human experience. Each painting offers a bold and emotionally defenseless rendition of the figure, inviting the viewer into a space of raw vulnerability. Hall paints human emotion—capturing quiet moments of introspection—the moments when we consider possibilities or confront our fears. Through subtle gesture and expression, Hall paints not just the human body, but the emotional undercurrents that run beneath the surface of the flesh.
Read Full Review on Chicago Fine Art