Susan Nichter’s ‘Karina Holmer Painting’ is a beautifully eerie addition to any art collection.

Karina Holmer Painting -For those of you who were fans of the film Hereditary (no spoilers here!), you may have noticed the small painting hanging over Annie’s bed in her room, titled Karina Holmer Painting. The movie focuses on the tragic loss of Annie’s mother and how it affects her throughout her life, but the painting comes to represent another family member who lived on in their house – even though she isn’t necessarily seen or heard from again after that scene. That painting was created by artist Susan Nichter, and we think it would be a great addition to any art collection!

The Artist

The painstakingly detailed Karina Holmer Painting stands at 7 feet and is the artist Susan Nichter’s first mural installation. The piece depicts the iconic figure of Venus, who was designed by male Renaissance artist Andrea da Correggio in 1530 and adorns Titian’s masterpiece of The Rape of Europa at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
Karina and her sisters are seen descending from the sky on mythical animals, heralding change for the viewer: an opportunity for freedom or prosperity for all mankind. Nichter paints these gods and goddesses as genderfluid beings whose bodies morph from man to woman and back again, embodying both masculinity and femininity.
In this way she expresses not only gender fluidity but also a playful take on the classical mythological scenes that one would expect when viewing Greek mythology statues. As she did with Marilyn, she has chosen a well-known mythological painting which has been altered through its appropriation; how this will translate into our own society today remains unclear.

The Story Behind the Piece

Susan Nichter’s work has been shown in many exhibitions, including The World Inside Me at the Prestigious New York City Gallery Lehmann Maupin, and Mermaids at the Hollywood Theater for the Art of Film in Los Angeles. Her paintings are deeply rooted in her own personal experiences with death and spirituality from her life as an artist and psychotherapist working with terminally ill people. Susan says that she paints because it is how she can best express herself with words not being enough sometimes, but also because it fills her with joy.
The Karina Holmer Painting was inspired by one of Susan’s patients who wanted to paint before she passed away from cancer last year. When they first met, Susan noticed that this woman never talked about anything sad or painful in her life. I knew something had happened to her, said Susan, and I needed to find out what.
It wasn’t until they were sitting together on the couch when Susan asked if there were any parts of her story left unsaid. When they started talking again, something shifted within Karina–she began crying on their second session together–a healing process finally beginning within both of them. It was then that Karina told Susan about seeing an angel during a near death experience after which time her physical healing began almost immediately even though doctors couldn’t explain it.

The Painting

In this painting, the viewer has just been caught off guard by an unseen force that has grasped them from behind and pulled them into the painting. Susan Nichter Karina Holmer Painting The artist captures the terror and surprise in the victim’s face with its mouth gaping open in shock as it stares at something we cannot see.
With its long, flowing hair pulled back tightly from its head, it becomes unclear whether this is meant to be a woman or not; however, there are many interpretations of what this figure could be representing. The figure could be one of two things: either an angel or demon fighting for their life against death itself or an innocent soul being dragged into hell by their own vices and desires.

The Artwork in Context

What does one do when the worst thing that ever happened becomes the only thing they know how to paint? For Susan Nichter, this was life after she watched her daughter die in front of her from an overdose. This heavy event became the driving force behind her artwork, which has been described as depicting people and animals with their bodies twisted in horrifying positions.
One of her most famous pieces is Karina Holmer Painting, which features a hauntingly beautiful girl lying on an expansive white canvas while paint drips down around her like bloodstains. It’s difficult not to be captivated by this piece and wonder who she is, where she came from, and what happened before we entered the scene.

Viewers Respond

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to post about Susan Nichter Karina Holmer Painting but I finally got around to it! This painting is an absolute stunner and deserves all the attention it can get. Karina Holmer was an artist who died tragically at only 18 years old due to leukemia, which makes this piece even more heartbreakingly beautiful for me personally.
The painting depicts two women who are likely related and are sitting on opposite sides of a bed, one of whom has passed away in her sleep- or has been murdered- with the other looking down upon her corpse with an expression of sorrow and guilt on her face.