Nicole James is a New York City painter recognized for her intimate, cinematic depictions of celebratory moments gone wrong.
Foregrounding a dual interest in classical still life and contemporary narrative, James creates wildly saturated, quietly unsettling vanitas paintings that borrow from the visual language of film. Working within a lineage of queer artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Félix González-Torres, she draws on the collective symbolism of everyday objects to translate autobiographical experiences into a shared visual language, inviting viewers to project their own lived narratives onto the work.
She has exhibited widely in New York City, with presentations at The Hole, Half Gallery, Future Fair, SPRING/BREAK, O’Flaherty’s, IRL, Room57, and Harsh Collective, and her work is held in various private collections.
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📬 For inquiries, email nicolelaurenjames@gmail.com