Nicholas Cueva's Paintings Wax Poetic

Nicholas Cueva (Post-Bac 2009, MFA 2011) examines surfing through an experiential lens in the exhibition Sex Wax, which was recently reviewed in Hyperallergic. The title of the exhibit comes from a special wax used to coat the surfboard in order to provide traction for the surfer’s feet. "Just as landscape painters in the 17th century and genre painters like Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin in the 18th century proved that banal still life objects could be perfectly good subjects, so Cueva, through his visually and materially inventive works, demonstrates that surfing is an activity deserving to be depicted," says the publication.