'Astute studies': Bernard Nolan's 'Nocturnal Savannah' opens at Location Gallery, May 19
In spring just after sunset, Savannah awakens — unfurling a subtle magic best experienced in long walks through her squares and cobbled streets. Strolling into evening, soft scents of jasmine rise and fade. Historic homes, bars and restaurants come alive in kaleidoscope colors that shimmer against the deepening sky. Nights are cool. Humidity is at a minimum.
The oil paintings of Bernard Nolan capture these visceral details in a style so unique and precise it could be described as hyper-photo-surrealism. His scenes, often with few human subjects and strategic lack of contemporary vehicles, harken to a Hostess City some 25 years gone.
On May 19, Location Gallery, 251 Bull St., presents “Nocturnal Savannah,” showcasing 17 of Nolan’s oil paintings on wood panels. The show runs through June 12 with gallery profits benefiting Historic Savannah Foundation in honor of National Preservation Month.
"We were raised with no television, and I think my parents did me a great service because that shaped me into who I am. I did a lot of drawing, and reading and playing with Legos."
Bernard Nolan
Originally from Atlanta, Nolan grew up in a family that emphasized learning and thoughtfully engaging in the world. They moved around between Georgia, Kentucky, Connecticut and North Carolina, and went on summer vacations to historic sites along the East Coast. Nolan always had a sketchbook. In it, he’d recreate scenes from Mt. Vernon, Monticello and iconic homes of Charleston and Savannah.
“I’d sit in the back of the station wagon and draw,” recalled Nolan. “I remember really liking the buildings and would focus on them, their lines, trying to get the architecture right. We were raised with no television, and I think my parents did me a great service because that shaped me into who I am. I did a lot of drawing, and reading and playing with Legos.”
Nolan went on to study painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he graduated in 1998. He not only fell in love with the city but also met and married the love of his life, painter and fine artist Jennifer Nolan. But their relationship had a rocky start. After a year of dating they broke up but got back together for good just a year later.
“Bittersweet” serves as milestone between the couple, representing a moment in their relationship coming full circle.
“In the painting of Levy Jewelers, that building used to be the Italian restaurant Il Pasticcio,” recalled Nolan. “On our one-year dating anniversary, we had plans to eat there, but earlier that day we broke up. Then, 21 years later, Jen and I went to Levy’s, and I bought her an antique tourmaline ring that she absolutely loved. The painting means so much in how much I love my wife and cherish the memories I have in this city.”
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'Savannah at night is an exquisite place where my artist just turns on'
Nolan is smitten with Savannah as his nighttime scenes reveal. In creating them he visited many places he relished as a student, took reference photos, then retuned to his studio where he painstakingly spent a month completing each work. The influences of Edward Hopper, Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton shine through. For Nolan, it’s about capturing the subtle shifts, transparencies and interplay of light and color.
The painting “Cash Only,” a low-lit interior of Savannah’s revered dive bar, Pinkie Masters, shimmers as jewel box of pinks, teals, yellows and purples.
“Savannah at night is an exquisite place where my artist just turns on,” emphasized Nolan. “I get down there, walking around, and I just can’t get enough of it, especially remembering what it was like as a SCAD student in the late 1990s when Jen and I were there. It was different, fewer people, smaller hometown vibe. We loved that time.”
In “The Public,” Nolan captures the facades of two popular Bull Street establishments. Painted without parked vehicles and just after an early evening rainstorm, the scene depicts a range of light and color that reveal both depth and intimacy. Gold-lit windows show a couple enjoying cocktails, while cool, subdued hues hint at patrons dining on the rooftop next door.
“I remember how lighting downtown was different,” reflected Nolan. “There were fewer outside lights and most were halogen. Now, there are a lot more LEDs and overall different types. One of my goals in this series was to paint scenes illuminated by different light temperatures and focus on how the colors blend and play together.”
Finding the nooks and crannies
When Nolan isn’t painting, he is father to five sons ranging in age from eight to 19. During the day he and his oldest work together in their custom woodworking business. In the evenings Nolan consistently paints in the home studio he shares with his wife.
“I don’t think I could paint without Jen,” emphasized Nolan. “We’ve been painting ever since we graduated, and we paint in the studio about six nights a week. Creating this show, I spent a lot of time during the day working without her, and it was tough. It’s nice to have someone beside you to critique your work instantly. We make each other better. She makes me better.”
In setting up the show, gallery director, Peter Roberts, saw a bit of coincidental magic. May is National Historic Preservation month, and Austin Hill, the owner of the realty company in which Location Gallery has its home, is also chair of Historic Savannah Foundation, the non-profit benefiting from sales during Nolan’s exhibit. The timing and connections were kismet.
“Bernard’s eye is so good at finding those corners, nooks and crannies that we’ve all walked by downtown a hundred times and presenting them in ways that hauntingly capture the fleetingness of a moment,” considered Roberts. “His works are astute studies of line, color, architecture that blur isolation into connection. And he’s just one of the kindest people to know and spend time with. Proof positive it’s good to work with nice people.”
If You Go >>
What: Nocturnal Savannah
Where: Location Gallery at Austin Hill Realty, 251 Bull St., Savannah
When: Opening reception, May 19, 6-9 p.m.; runs through June 12
Cost: Free
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Bernard Nolan's 'Nocturnal Savannah' opens at Location Gallery, May 19
