Artist’s Statement
Overlaps of nature and society fascinate me and inspire me. Despite the abstract appearance of much of what I make, all my imagery is rooted in real, lived experience. I collect information by drawing and painting recognizable subjects and scenes “en plein air” and then use memory and intuition to create studio artwork which evokes, rather than illustrates, the intertwining of society with nature. Linear, diagrammatic structures and flat planes of color are metaphors for the constructed world, while irregular organic contours and passages of atmospheric, translucent paint stand in for nature. I’ve been inspired by experiences hiking remote glaciers, wading urban trout streams and sailing boats through storms at sea. But regardless of the underlying subject matter, I enjoy when pictures appear to depict objects or situations that are almost recognizable but that, like ultraviolet light flickering just outside our range of perception, remain tantalizingly beyond our ability to identify them specifically. At their best, my images tease our sense of familiarity while refusing to be pinned down with certainty.
“Get Out There” lecture at the New York Studio School
Nick Lamia discusses his artistic practice and studio philosophy with curator Suzanne Kammin Baron at the Mueller Gallery, Caldwell University, October 2024
Nick Lamia installs his artwork "PyroCB" at The Space, Milwaukee, 2024
CV
EDUCATION
2019
Shelter Institute, Certificate in Timber Framing
2000
Boston University, MFA, Painting
1996-1998
New York Studio School, Painting & Drawing Atelier
1994
U.C. Berkeley, BA, Environmental Science, Biology
FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
Guggenheim Fellowship 2003
Bronx Museum Artist in the Marketplace (AIM) Program 2010
MacDowell Colony Residency 2009
Robert Blackburn Print Workshop Fellowship 2009
Wave Hill Winter Workspace Residency 2012
Triangle Artist’s Workshop 2004
I-Park Foundation Environmental Art Biennial Residency Program 2015
Marble House Project Residency 2014
Kahn Career Entry Award 2000
Dedalus Foundation Grant Nominee 1999
Headlands Institute Artist in Residence Nominee 2016, 2017, 2018
Constantin Alajalov Award 1998
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024
PyroCB, The Space, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (solo)
Special Dust, Mueller Art Gallery, Caldwell University, Caldwell, New Jersey (solo, artist’s talk, catalog)
Taming Abstraction, Gallery Neptune & Brown, Washington DC
2023
Waste Management, Institute Library, New Haven, Connecticut
Sanctuary, Lynn and Carl Goldstein Gallery, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
2022
The Year in Review, Planthouse Gallery, New York
Tailwaters Project, AVA Gallery, Lebanon, New Hampshire (solo, artist’s talk)
Cloud Architecture, Planthouse Gallery, New York (solo, artist’s talk)
2020
Indelible: Works in Ink, Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
From Dark to Light, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York
Returning to the Source, Wave Hill, New York
2019
Coast to Coast, Berry Campbell Gallery, New York (catalog)
Coast to Coast, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco (catalog)
Flatfile, Planthouse Gallery, New York
New York Studio School Alumni Invitational, New York, (catalog) (Curated by Robert Franca, David Humphrey, Judith Linhares,
Fran O’Neill and Claire Sherman)
2018
Cloud, Mountain, Valley, Sea, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York (solo, artist’s talk)
2016
Victory Garden, Planthouse Gallery, New York
Threads, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (solo)
Black & White: Modern and Contemporary Positions, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York
2015
Ephemeral Art in the Landscape, Environmental Art Biennial, I-Park, East Haddam, Connecticut
Writing of the Disaster, ZONE Galleria Brentano, Milan, Italy
In Situ, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York
2014
Symmetry Breaking, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York (solo, artist’s talk)
Art Show Today, Planthouse, New York
Simultaneity, Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, New Jersey (catalog)
Datascapes, Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, New Jersey (catalog)
Prickly, Tender and Steamy, Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, Bronx, New York (catalog)
2013
Simultaneity, Sherman Gallery, Boston University, traveling to Bristol Community College, Seton Hall University and Suffolk County Community College (catalog)
New York Art Book Fair, Published “Wide Open World,” a limited-edition book of drawings at MoMA PS1, New York
Let’s Talk about Love, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art
Let’s Talk about Love, Printed Matter, New York
2012
Coppice, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York solo, artist’s talk)
Greenhouse, 1GAP Gallery Space, New York (solo)
Paper Band, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York
Linear Thinking, Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University (catalog)
Let’s Talk about Love, Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, MI
2011
Rain Dance, Triangle Presents, New York (catalog)
Bronx Calling, Bronx Museum Biennial, New York
70 Years of Abstract Painting: Excerpts, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York,
Marie Celeste, ArtSpace, New Haven, CT
Fracking, Exit Art, New York
2010
Power to the People, Feature, Inc., New York
What Matters Most, Exit Art, New York
Land Use Survey, Jen Beckman Gallery, New York
A Separate Peace, McNeill Art Group Project Space, New York
The Art of the Artist’s Book, Oakland University Art Gallery, Rockland, MI
2009
A Brand New Deal, Caren Golden Fine Art, New York
Midnite Snacks, Traveling exhibition, locations in New York and Virginia
2008
First Traces, Maine Center for Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
Betwixt and Between, Courthouse Gallery, Ellsworth, ME (catalog)
Art Anonymous, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Mixed Paint, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY
Linear Perspectives, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, ME
Visual Trilogy, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
2007
FLOW Art Fair, Miami
Drawing, Thinking, Von Lintel Gallery, New York
Lines in the Earth: Maps, Power and the Imagination, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Sun Valley, ID (catalog)
Young Painters Competition 2007, Miami University, Oxford, OH (Juror: Jerry Saltz)
Breaking New Ground: The Power and Variety of Landscape, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY
2006
Open Season, Helix Projects, Las Cruces, NM
Size Matters, RHYS Gallery, Boston
CMCA Biennial, Maine Center for Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
Curator’s Choice: Painting Structure, Maine Center for Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
2005
Nicholas Lamia, Reece Galleries, New York
Skyline, Sherman Gallery, Boston
From the Root to the Fruit, Alona Kagan Gallery, New York
Crossing the Line, The Painting Center, New York
The Continuous Mark-40 Years at the New York Studio School , New York Studio School, New York
2004
Re-Entry, Round Top Center for the Arts, Damariscotta, ME (solo)
New Paintings, Reece Galleries, New York, NY (solo)
Study, Roebling Hall, Pierogi & Parker’s Box, New York
2003
(212) to (213), Oulous Repair Shop, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
Nicholas Lamia-New Paintings, Reece Galleries, New York (solo)
Signs for Travelers, Hay Gallery, Portland, ME (solo)
From the Dock, Gallery 357, Rockland, ME (solo)
Factorial Debut, Oulous Repair Shop, Los Angeles
New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition, New York Studio School, New York
2002
House of Love, Firehouse Community Space, New York
Digital DUMBO ’02, M3 Projects, New York
“New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition”, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York
2001
New Landscapes, Gallery 357, Rockland, ME (solo)
Beckoning Vision, New York Studio School, New York
2000
Young Masters, Glass Mountain Gallery, Bantam, CT
Of Sight and Sound, Mass College of Art, Boston
Bon Fire, in conjunction with Joseph Albers: In Black and White, Boston University Art Gallery, Boston
SELECTED PUBLIC & CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Hood Museum, Dartmouth College
US Department of State Art in Embassies Program
William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation Museum
P.G. Online
J.S. Guggenheim Foundation
Alliance Capital
MBNA Corporation
Tishman-Speyer Properties (commission)
Pfizer Corporation
The New York Studio School
Boston University
BOOKS AND CATALOGS
Wide Open World
Coast to Coast
Simultaneity
Datascapes
Prickly, Tender and Steamy
Linear Thinking
Rain Dance
Bronx Calling
Marie Celeste
Betwixt & Between
Lines in the Earth
BIBLIOGRAPHY
New Haven Independent, Institute Library Show Gets Into “Waste Management”, October 12, 2022
Design Arts Daily, Studio Visit with Nick Lamia, March 30, 2022
ArtCritical.com, Cloud, Mountain, Valley, Sea, Nick Lamia at Jason McCoy Gallery, Feature, March 8, 2018
Datascapes, exhibition catalog, Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, New Jersey, 2014
Prickly, Tender & Steamy, catalog for exhibition at Wave Hill, Bronx, NY, 2014
Simultaneity, catalog for traveling exhibition, 2014-15
South Coast Today, Show Explores Geometry Beneath the Surface, February 20, 2013
BU Today, Pursuing a Simultaneous Viewing Experience, April 11, 2013
The 22 Magazine, Nick Lamia, featured interview, vol. 3, number 3, 2012
Linear Thinking, exhibition catalog, Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, 2012
Gorky’s Granddaughter, Video Interview: Nick Lamia, May 23, 2012
mollyloot.com, Nick Lamia, May 11, 2012
Design Arts Daily, Nick Lamia: Drawing on Nature, May 3, 2012
Wave Hill Blog, Winter Workspace Artists: Nick Lamia, February 16, 2012
Design Arts Daily, Nick Lamia’s Winter Wonderland, February 9, 2012
New Haven Advocate, Marie Celeste at Artspace New Haven, July 7, 2011
Design Arts Daily, Abstraction, the Informers and the Informed, April 21, 2011
City Arts, 70 Years of Abstract Painting, Excerpts, April 19, 2011
The New York Sun, 70 Years of Abstract Painting at Jason McCoy Gallery, April 5, 2011
Design Arts Daily, April 21, 2011
City Arts, April 20, 2011
Design Arts Daily, April 20, 2011
The New Yorker, Art Shortlist, August 5, 2010
Time Out New York, August 4, 2010
Dwell Magazine online, July 17, 2010
MacDowell: Freedom to Create, “Visual Artists in Residence: Nick Lamia”, volume 38, number 2, winter 2009
ArtNews, "Drawing, Thinking", June 2007
ArtCritical.com, “Hide and Seek on Bedford Avenue”, June 2004
Art in America, Guggenheim Fellows 2003, June 2003
The New York Times, Guggenheim Fellowships, April 16, 2003
Portland Press Herald, “Signs for Travelers” at the Hay Gallery, September 14, 2003
The Courier Gazette, Guggenheim fellow to show at 357 Main, July 10, 2003
The Free Press, Guggenheim Recipient at 357 Main, July 10, 2003
The Item, International Artists Featured at Henaine’s Gallery, Port Chester, NY, May 2001
BU Bridge, Kahn Awards, Boston, MA, May 2000
Boston University School for the Arts News, The Kahn Awards, Boston, MA, summer 2000
Tailwaters Project Background
Gorky’s Granddaughter Studio Visit
Nick Lamia installing "Cities for our Kids' Kids' Kids' Kids' Kids' Kids' Kids'"
Bio
Nick Lamia is an award-winning artist whose work includes drawing, painting, printmaking, installation and sculpture. Despite its often non-objective appearance, all of his artwork is based on real, lived experience--often involving outdoor adventures in the mountains and on the ocean. His artworks are metaphoric representations of the overlap of the natural world with the constructed world of man. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship as well as residencies at Wave Hill, The MacDowell Colony, the Robert Blackburn Print Workshop and the Triangle Artists Association. 500 of his small-scale drawings were included in the inaugural Bronx Museum Biennial in 2011. Recent solo exhibitions include “Cloud Architecture” at Planthouse Gallery in New York and “The Tailwaters Project,” at the AVA Gallery in New Hampshire where proceeds went to supporting the Greater Upper Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited and their ongoing effort to protect and restore coldwater fisheries and watersheds.