Nicki Orbach

Unspoken philosophies of a specific culture have a direct bearing on how one thinks, perceives and creates art. My passion is to understand different ways of seeing, thinking and experiencing the world through the philosophies of Taoism and Zen Buddhism. They offer a very interesting set of inquiries into space and time, non-duality, emptiness, transience, and impermanence.

My current body of work explores my passion. Rhythmic gestural marks are obscured by skeins of white pastel. The white varies subtly in contrast and hue. As one spends time with the work, without intention or expectation, some of the marks are revealed and then disappear again. There is an oscillation of space and a sense of meditative "emptiness." The paintings have not changed their physical properties but our experience of the work has changed.

1997 Pratt Institute, M.F.A.
1986 New York Academy of Art, Certificate for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
1985 Art Students League, Certificate of Completion in Fine Arts Painting
1978 Hunter College, B.A., Psychology (Magna cum Laude)