Nicki Cherry creates sculptures that are active sites of growth and decay, grappling with the psychological and physiological turbulence we experience within ourselves. Tulips bloom from stretching limbs, scents waft from burning candles, and sound seeps into ruptured skin. Punctuating life-sized figures made of pigmented concrete and ceramic with organic and inorganic materials ranging from blister pearls to medical ephemera, Cherry’s work treats the body as a cipher for our inner vulnerabilities.
After initially studying particle physics, Cherry received their BA from the University of Chicago in 2014 and their MFA from Yale School of Art in 2019. Their work has been presented internationally at MAMA Projects, The Bronx Museum, and NARS Foundation (New York); Capsule (Venice, Italy and Hong Kong, China), Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (Arlington, VA), and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (Chicago). Cherry is the recipient of grants from the Queens Council on the Arts and Café Royal Cultural Foundation, alongside fellowships from Surf Point Foundation and the Bronx Museum of Arts. Their work has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, the Washington Post, Newcity Magazine, the Chicago Reader, and IMPULSE Magazine. Cherry lives and works in Queens, New York.
nicki.cherry.studio@gmail.com • @nicki__cherry