Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Johnson.
Hi Nicole, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been an artist since I was a child, participating in art shows, designing flyers and posters, and learning art history as early as elementary school. As a child I worked in graphite, acrylic paint, and oil pastel. Exposure to various mediums and being able to contextualize my thoughts and ideas through the backdrop of art history was integral to my early development and exploration.
I participated in many art shows throughout high school, and had amassed a body of work that explored street art, graffiti, as well as portraiture and more classical styles, through both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional work.
I chose to pursue a business marketing major at SUNY Albany, which then led to a very successful career in emerging technology companies. As my technology career took off, my art career was in arrested development. However, the blessing as that my career provided a solid foundation to re-enter into the art space in 2020.
In 2020, I started with digital art, picking up an iPad and downloading Procreate. I treated it like a physical piece of paper. From there, I began prototyping some of the ideas and concepts that I had, exploring themes of historical animation, as well as developing a concept highlighting Black comic book characters.
In early 2025, I also participated in the Vika Visuals Arts Association “Mind You Art Business” program, which is a professional development program for emerging visual artists. This helped me to define and articulate my artistic practice and helped to equip me with professional tools that support and help sustain my growth as an artist.
From there, I began developing a concept called “Sold, Not Told” which was the primary theme for my first solo exhibit in November of 2025.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a mostly smooth road because I have the ability to work and release work at my own pace. Balancing a professional career with an art career is challenging, but is forcing me to be diligent about time management.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Here is my artist statement:
My artistic vision reflects the depth of Blackness, from triumphant Black Love to our historical social and systemic struggles, and everything in between, using the contrasting personas of Black Superheroes and much more controversial representations of the past such as offensive caricatures of early-to-mid 1900s Disney and Merrie Melodies illustrations, some of which are known as “The Censored Eleven,” as well as some 1970s-era Blaxploitation representations. Black Superheroes specifically represent the excellence, magic, and power that we emanate, while the aforementioned controversial caricatures from early 1900s illustrations and 1970s Blaxploitation illustrations characterize the flawed humanity that often comes along with the strife of existing as a Black person in America. These images of the past and what they represent still remain relevant in today’s sociopolitical landscape, and I boldly confront them throughout my work.
My artistic practice spans diverse mediums, including mixed media, collage, digital print, acrylic, spray paint, and precious stones that are meticulously but brutally crushed by hand to incorporate spiritual properties that reflect the power and depth of our ancestry. My work explores the power and significance of Black representation, using bold colors, bristling themes, and direct messages to reclaim and redefine portrayals of Black characters in both historical and modern contexts that reflect the current sociopolitical issues that are faced specifically by marginalized communities and the unique individuals within them. Throughout my work, I confront issues that challenge real representations and false perceptions of identity and cultural expression through symbolic representations of both oppressing systems and oppressed people, very intentionally leveraging historical illustrated representations of each.
I choose bold and vibrant creations not only honor the audacious legacy of Black culture but to ignite conversations about the ongoing struggle for visibility and equity within the art world at a micro level, and throughout the world in which we exist at a macro level, in a way that drudges up imagery and the attached emotions that have been buried and obscured, but beg to be unearthed and applied to a point of view that encompasses and criticizes the perpetuation of the very stereotypes that were originally represented through these caricatures. With each piece, I create space to both contemplate and challenge how marginalized identities are represented and affected by the world’s systems, and how they are embraced and rejected, through historical reflection and forward-thinking vision.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is having inspired my audience to think more deeply about the world around them. My work is intended to invoke a feeling, whatever that feeling is, based on the perspective and lens through which my audience is viewing it through.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nicatniteart.com
- Instagram: @nicatnite_gallery
