i must paint with my hands to climb through the dark memories, to find new identities, to reconnect with the little girl i was––to go from numbness to rebirth. My excavated surfaces, inspired by Mark Bradford and Gerhard Richter, are visceral responses from my own personal history as well as responses to the dark histories of so many silenced Black women. i try to translate these memories into layered and abstract stories. as i scrape away color i hope to reveal what is underneath and show a path to emerging identities.

a recent graduate of Pratt Institute’s MFA, painting program, i was born and bred in Baltimore, MD, and up until 2018, i lived in Brooklyn, NY for 25 years. now, i live in Bloomfield, NJ with my wife, our two rigebacks ngozi and kofi, along with our cat, lelabo.

pricing + general inquiries
nikki@nikkiterry.com