Artist Bio
Artist Statement
Nicole Ekström is Massachusetts based artist. She is creating work that aims to figure out her relationship to the idea of spirituality. Through the creation of her work, she is unpacking her beliefs and evaluating her connection to these beliefs. Her process is intuitive, and is usually informed by music, meditation, dreams, or movement. She incorporates ink wash, oil paint, sculpture, found materials and the use of light to create work that breathes their essence into the atmosphere. She finds comfort in the idea of something greater beyond the physical form; it has shaped her into who she is and what she choses to explore in her work.
Study
While studying to get her degree in Fine Arts at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, she explored multiple mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, performance art, and dance. She was Chairman of the board for the Student Art Union as well as Artistic Director for her dance team. She studied in Madrid, Spain at the Universidad De Rey Juan Carlos on top of studying in the Portuguese Islands, known as the Azores, to gain skills and perspective in photojournalism. While earning her degree, she interned for The Arts and Research Collaborative of Lowell as the Gallery Manager, and worked to organize and host a gallery show.
Highlights
-International Sculpture Center Nominee
-Department of Art and Design Scholarship
‘Our Point of View’ Oil Painting Exhibition — Mahoney Gallery, Lowell, Ma
January 2024
‘Perspective’ Oil Painting Exhibition - Arts and Research Collaborative, Lowell, Ma
September 2023
‘Heatwave’ Photography Exhibition Rajotte Studio Opera,
Madrid, Spain
July 2022
Practice
Ekström is an figurative expressionist painter who includes themes of sea, sky, movement and spirit like beings in her work. Her technique and approach is an intuitive process.
Some of her influences include, Gustav Klimt, Egon Shiele, Hilma Af Klint, Jeanie Tomanek, Reynier Llanes, Katheerine Bradford, Richard Stipl, Marina Abromovic, and Yoko Ono.
Currently, she is working on a series that depicts interactions of or between important animals and figures that are of significance to her.