Nicole Young is an artist living and working in Vancouver on the traditional, unceded and occupied territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Nicole’s work is an exploration of materiality through the lens of environmentalism. She creates her own pigments and dyes out of natural and often wild foraged materials as a way to deepen her connection with the land, and to create a dialogue about waste-free practices. Using a combination of natural dyes, textiles, and acrylic paint that is often repurposed from past works, her paintings are as much science experiments as they are conversations on ways to address climate justice. She approaches her work with the mentality that nothing will be wasted during the creation process, and this idea affects the way she creates everything from paper studies to large scale installations. Leftover textiles, papers and canvas are often used in future paintings, and the gathering of materials and production of pigments is of equal importance to the creation of the final work itself. Moving seamlessly between large scale textile installations, works on canvas, garments and graceful drawings, Nicole’s works aesthetically resemble collage while maintaining their painterly qualities.
Born in Ontario, Nicole attended the University of British Columbia Okanagan where she received a BFA in Visual Arts and Art History, and studied studio arts and art history at the University of California Los Angeles. Her work has been exhibited in Canada and abroad since 2010, and her paintings are in private collections throughout the globe. Nicole has held curatorial and management positions at a range of cultural institutions throughout British Columbia, including Ballard Fine Art, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Kelowna Art Gallery, and the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan.
Photo by Lana Chebib
CV
Nicole Young | hello@nicoleyoungart.com
b. 1990, Peterborough, ON
Lives and works in Vancouver, BC
Education
2015 Bachelor of Fine Arts, UBCO, BC, Canada
2013-2014, Studies in Visual Arts and Art History at UCLA, California
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 North Van Arts, Tactile Memories, group exhibition, North Vancouver, BC
2024 THIS Gallery, I Was There, I Forget The Rest, solo exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2023 THIS Gallery, Life = Absurd, group exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2023 Opal Projects, 100 Amigos, group exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2023 Stay Home Gallery, Co-Create, group exhibition , Paris, Tennessee
2023 ShockBoxx Gallery, Intergalactic Open, group exhibition, Hermosa Beach, California
2022 Kent Harrison Art Gallery, Grow, Spill, Wrap, Reveal, solo exhibition, Harrison, BC
2022 Deer Lake Art Gallery, Shifting Forms, two-person exhibition, Burnaby, BC
2022 ShockBoxx Gallery, Not! An Art Fair, group exhibition, Hermosa Beach, California
2022 Federation Gallery, Spotlight, group exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2022 Visionary Art Collective, Stories I Tell Myself, group online exhibition
2021 Shockboxx Gallery, Hot Damn, Hermosa Beach, California
2020 Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, Backstitch, solo exhibition, Kelowna, BC
2020 Shockboxx Gallery, Minimalism, group exhibition, Hermosa Beach, California
2020 Shockboxx Gallery, Irregularly Scheduled, group exhibition, Hermosa Beach, California
2019 Lake Country Art Gallery, What’s Still Here, What Came Before Us, two-person exhibition, Lake Country, BC
2019 Courtney Ungaro Space and Design, Marginalia, solo exhibition, Kelowna, BC
2019 Charles Adams Studio Project, CLIP: Works on Paper, group exhibition, Lubock, Texas
2019 Shockboxx Gallery, New School Abstract, Hermosa Beach, group exhibition, California
2017, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Rivers and Roads to Find You, solo exhibition, Vernon, BC
2016 Lake Country Art Gallery, Draped/Double Take, group exhibition, Lake Country, BC
2016, Rotary Centre for the Arts, Satin Sea, two-person exhibition, Kelowna, BC
2014 Lululemon, Shell, solo exhibition, Kelowna, BC
2013 SOPA Fine Arts, Under Eight, Group Exhibition, Kelowna, BC
Gallery Representation
TACIT COLLECTIVE, TORONTO, CA
Clients and Collaborations
Aritzia LP.
Astro Alley x Van Mural Fest
Bidgood
Courtney Ungaro Space + Design
Earls Restaurants Ltd.
Elizabeth Lawson Design
Establishment Interiors
GZ Art Co.
Kelowna Art Gallery
Lululemon Athletica
Rigour & Whimsy
Textile Apparel
The Boxset Collective
residencies
2022 Kent Harrison Arts Council, Harrison, BC
2020 The Lemon Tree House Residency, Camporsevoli, Italy (Postponed due to COVID-19)
CURATORIAL and consulting WORK
2023 - present: Project Manager, Ballard Fine Art
2021 - 2023: Fine Art Consultant, Federation Gallery
2021: Curator, Plant Parallels, Deer Lake Art Gallery
2016 - 2017: Curatorial Intern, Arts Council of the Central Okanagan
Selected press
Arts to Hearts Project - Studio Visit Book Vol. 1, published 2023
Hart House Review, published 2023
Five Questions to Nicole Young, New & Abstract, published 2023
Sustainable Artist Nicole Young Uses Nature as Medium, Art Journal, published 2022
Novella Coffee Bar, SCOUT Magazine, published 2022
What’s Still Here, What Came Before Us, Exhibition Catalogue, published 2019
Rivers and Roads to Find You, Exhibition Catalogue, published 2017