Artist’s Profile: Nicole Reber Brooklyn NY | Mixed Media
Nicole Reber (1989) is a poet and artist based in Brooklyn, NY
Artist grew up in Ventura County, CA. She moved to New York when she was 17 to attend Pratt Institute, where she graduated with a BFA in Writing.
Recent exhibitions of her work have taken place at Chinatown Soup, Silent Barn, and BHQFU. She has spoken at MoMa PS1 and Printed Matter.
Nicole’s work at the Black & White Gallery
Research is an important element in her work, and she often spends a lot of time writing about pieces before she develops a series of works. She keeps an extensive archive of all written notes, drawings, and journals that she has finished, and revisits these works to develop thematic elements in her work.
Nicole Reber “Daisy” 2015
It is my goal that once you start to experience the sign paintings that the viewer will look at all letter signs in a different light as they come upon them in their daily life. Doing the “connect-the-dots” paintings was a way to illuminate the power of memory and numbers… how numbers function as personal passwords, how we have lucky numbers, favorite days, numbers that remind us of bad/good things.
NICOLE REBER “Best Man” 2015 54” x 78” (137x 198 cm) Vinyl, plastic, aluminum $5,000.00
When I’m painting these pieces… the mysticism of these symbols… trying to illuminate the meaning behind numbers in the same way that we put meaning into words. Eliminating the numbers we are left confused: where are we supposed to start, where is the finishing point. Left without these markers of beginning and success, the viewer must carve their own path, which may be the only way to true fulfillment after all.
Nicole is half-Polish, and can speak fluently. In 2012, she published a photo book of her time living with her Polish family called Za Nami.
Artist is an avid music fan and has an extensive collection of playlists that she makes for friends on Spotify. Last year, she made a fanzine to promote one of her favorite artists, Peter Ivers.
Exhibited during Art Basel Miami 2015
Letters and numbers form the basis of all education. From these building blocks, I work to illuminate the artistic value in these basic tools, and disembody the meanings from their original versions. A letter board in its normal form might tell you the price of your meal at the diner, or the room in the office building to go to; these signs dispel confusion with fact. The sign paintings dismantle the definitive nature of signage, offering text that calls for multiple interpretations, imagination, and irony, emotions that are rarely conceived from signs in their original form.
For her collection at Spotte Nicole created a series of sign paintings:
NICOLE REBER “Shibuya” 2015 18” x 24” (46 x 61 cm) Vinyl, plastic, aluminum $1,000.00
NICOLE REBER “Beverly Hills Hilton” 2015 24” x 24” (61 x 61 cm) Vinyl, plastic, aluminum $1,500.00
NICOLE REBER “Encore” 2015 18” x 24” (46 x 61 cm) Vinyl, plastic, aluminum $1,000.00
She is very interested in the graphic nature of surf and skate companies of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Her favorite brands from this time are Life’s a Beach and Gotcha.
Her first poem was published in the 1st grade in her local newspaper. It was a eulogy for Humpty Dumpty.
For the past 3 years Nicole is also an editor and co-curator of Packet, a biweekly art publication. They are releasing its 73rd issue this week, Feb 4th 2016
Packet is a biweekly art publication printed in Brooklyn on a Risograph RZ390u. The publication is a contribution-based collective that focuses on process and experimentation. Each issue is a holding shape for immediacy, irreverence, and the ‘par-baked.’ A cover ‘residency’ is given to an individual seasonally, spanning six issues. Upon completion, each set of six is rebound and sold as a wire-bound compendium.
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