Nicole Alger’s figurative work is influenced by animism and human ritual as set in imaginary natural environments. Through her content and obvious brushwork, the paintings suggest movement and connection with an imagined environment. The vibrant colors are a symbolic language used to depict the inner world. Even when a nude is ‘just’ a nude, Alger’s handling of a brush gives the forms added motion. Her work is influenced by the years’ of life training she received in Florence in the 90’s despite her obvious departure from strict realism. Alger places emphasis on the craft of painting as part of the work itself, to allow for the viewers’ imagination to be lit.