Nicki Cherry’s sculptures are active sites of growth and decay—tulips bloom from stretching tendrils, milky fluids leak from latex tubing, wax candles burn and diffuse scent. They create figural forms using pigmented concrete, fiberglass, wax, and clay. Cherry punctuates these fragmented forms with materials such as medical ephemera and flowers that point towards the ways in which we care for and control ourselves. The attention to surface detail in their sculptures reflects how skin externalizes illness and emotional states, such as how acne can indicate hormonal imbalance or flushed skin can reveal embarrassment. Cherry’s work embraces the awkward and absurd to question what happens when we give into the slippery mess of our bodies and minds.
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’s work has been presented internationally at venues including MAMA Projects, The Bronx Museum, NARS Foundation, Border Gallery, and GHOSTMACHINE in New York; Capsule in Venice, Italy and Hong Kong; AUTOMAT and Icebox Project Space in Philadelphia; the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and Slow Dance in Chicago. Their work has been written about in the Brooklyn Rail, the Washington Post, Hyperallergic, Newcity Magazine, the Chicago Reader, IMPSULE Magazine, and ArteFuse. They have received grants from Café Royal Cultural Foundation, the Queens Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. They have completed residencies at Surf Point Foundation in Maine, Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, the Bronx Museum of Arts, and NARS Foundation in Brooklyn. Cherry lives and works in Queens, New York.
nicki.cherry.studio@gmail.com • @nicki__cherry