Stephen Appleby-Barr’s ‘Nimco, The Dissertation,’ 2022

Stephen Appleby-Barr’s evocative portraits draw inspiration from art history and literature as well as the experiences and pursuits of his sitters. This painting appeared in Appleby-Barr’s first solo exhibition in the United States, Stephen Appleby-Barr: Correspondence, which took place at GCMoA in fall 2023.

Nimco Kulmiye Hussain is a scholar and independent curator based in London. They are originally from Finland, a vision of the landscape of which can be seen in the creamy froth of the espresso cup. In the dream-like space of this painting, Hussain appears as though in mid-sentence, at work on their dissertation, with some of their prized books at hand. At the heart of the portrait is the mutual regard of two artists, painter and writer, and the intimacy of a shared conversation between friends.