Nicki Cherry’s practice engages with what it means to be a body. Their sculptures are active sites of growth and decay—tulips bloom from soil-filled crevices, ceramic bodies leak milky fluids, spine-shaped candles burn and diffuse scent. These systems emulate human desire and failure to control our physical and psychic selves. By embracing the weird, awkward, and absurd realities of our corporeality, Cherry’s work invites an empathetic connection with its viewer.
Cherry’s work has been presented nationally at venues including NARS Foundation, the Border Gallery, GHOSTMACHINE, the Boiler, Flux Factory, and Shin Gallery in New York; the Reva David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington; AUTOMAT and Icebox Project Space in Philadelphia. Their work has been written about in The Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, ArteFuse, Coastal Post, and Floorr Magazine. Cherry is the recipient of fellowships and grants from Surf Point Foundation, the Bronx Museum of Art, Café Royal Cultural Foundation, Queens Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. After initially studying to become a particle physicist, Cherry received their BA from the University of Chicago in 2014 and their MFA from Yale School of Art in 2019. Cherry lives and works in Queens, NY and Chicago, IL.
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