Mary Nicholson

Metaphysical Pop

My paintings, deeply rooted in performance, explore the potential of the printed image through theatrical enactment and playful investigation. I see painting as both a physical and cerebral pursuit: a channel for philosophical inquiry that questions how we represent reality and navigate the tension between abstraction and figuration.

I draw on diverse painterly traditions: from Western court painting and Japanese Edo-period prints to Surrealism and the utopian aspirations of the avant-garde. I constantly play with art historical tropes of illusion versus flatness, mediating between objective and subjective approaches in an interplay that swings with regular rhythm. I often describe the genre of my work as metaphysical pop. Although it offers a pop entry point, it rapidly drifts into metaphysical musing; within shifting terrains, isolated figures and contours can be seen to inhabit charged spaces.

While the overall arc of my work centres on an ongoing inquiry into the act of painting itself, subjects I often return to include performers, geishas, reimagining art historical paintings and taming the animal within. Though the subjects differ, the underlying threads collectively explore painting as a language with ...

1995 MFA, Hunter College, NY
1992 BA, Chelsea College of Art, London

Mary Nicholson (b. 1969, Kent) is a contemporary painter based in the South of France. She studied painting at Chelsea School of Art in London and earned her MFA from Hunter College in New York. Her paintings and drawings have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions across New York, Los Angeles, New Jersey, London, Cardiff, Copenhagen, Germany, and France.
Nicholson was invited to create a book for the Pictures and Words collection by STH Editions, pairing a selection of her drawings with poetry. This book was exhibited at the LA Art Book Fair at MOCA and the NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1 in Queens.
Her work has also been included in several artist books curated by Scott Hug (K48), with exhibitions at Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts (CA), John Connelly Presents (NY), Deitch Projects (Brooklyn), and Agnes B. (Paris). In addition, her paintings have been featured in Artnet Magazine, V Magazine, and NY Arts.
Nicholson’s work has been selected for juried exhibitions with Contemporary Painters, the Royal Overseas League (London), and The Whitworth Young Contemporaries (Manchester Art Centre, UK). Her paintings are held in private collections throughout the United States, Australia, and Europe.