Lowbrow Art (Pop Surrealism)

Images from Calvin Klein’s spring 2017 campaign.

About Anne Faith Nicholls

Anne Faith Nicholls is an American contemporary artist based in California. Best recognized for her Neosurrealistic paintings, Nicholls has exhibited in collections, galleries, museums and fairs around the world, and also contributed to a variety of high profile commercial projects with renowned collaborators. Often exploring the subconcious, her works are layered and mysterious, creating symbolic and alluring narratives on the human condition, with a unique perspective.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, with a backwards heart (a signature symbol that frequently appears in her paintings) Anne Faith Nicholls was raised in The Pacific Northwest, eventually making her way down the West Coast to California, and later around the world, creating her art all along the way.

Nicholls is an Honored Alumni of both Seattle Pacific University and The Academy of Art University San Francisco, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration, and extended studies abroad in Art History. The artist credits her formative years in San Francisco, amid the rise of the Low Brow and Pop Surrealist Movements, as her break into the fine art world. In 2008 Juxtapoz, Vogue and Nylon Magazines featured Nicholls in print, and she was named the VANS Artist Brand Ambassador for two consecutive years following, cementing her status as an artist to watch, and collect.

After early years of struggle and success with several groundbreaking galleries, Anne Faith Nicholls moved from San Francisco to Downtown Los Angeles, California, where she established herself with mentors and collaborators from all corners of the city’s diverse creative landscape. Connecting with artists, celebrities, interior designers, and entrepreneurs, Nicholls thrived in the melting pot of creativity unique to L.A. and sought to expand her brand with new, unexpected partnerships.

In 2010, Anne married director Jacob Arden McClure and together they moved to Paris and embarked on the first of many extended residencies in Europe, focused around art. Inspired, the couple moved back stateside, to Venice Beach California, and opened CURIO Studio & Collection. As an artist-operated gallery, CURIO enjoyed years of popularity, producing curated exhibitions of art, photography, and sculpture by emerging artists, and exhibiting at some of the world’s leading art fairs and museums. During this time, Nicholls’ own work continued to grow and garner exposure, attracting several respected art agencies, including Martin Lawrence Galleries, who went on to represent the artist from 2014-2018 at their multiple gallery locations nationwide, alongside masterworks by Basquiat, Picasso, Magritte and Dalî.

To date, Anne Faith Nicholls has produced hundreds of original works, most acquired by notable collectors around the world. Recently the artist debuted a new collection of paintings at her solo exhibition titled The Subconscious Observer at Martin Lawrence Galleries, New York, hailed by the press as “a uniquely revealing and refreshing look at the soul of the modern woman”. The summer of 2018 will see the launch of AFN Collection, exclusive offerings and female-focused collaborations from artist Anne Faith Nicholls, at www.afncollection.com

The Studio of Anne Faith Nicholls is currently based in Palm Springs, California, from where the artist continues her steadfast dedication to exploration, research, and technique… Forever committed to the craft, consumed by wanderlust, and compelled to examine and communicate social consciousness through the universal language of art.

Excerpt from interview with LA Weekly

An ongoing series of Q&As with some of L.A.’s most active and eclectic contemporary artists, introducing themselves to you in their own words. This week it’s painter Anne Faith Nicholls, who embraces the smooth perfection of surrealist fantasies, inflected with narrative and psychological symbols and emblems of female power.

(Entire Interview: Meet an Artist Monday: Anne Faith Nicholls)

L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist?

ANNE FAITH NICHOLLS: I was born an artist. I’ve always been creative. That said, like a true artist, I question this identity daily.

What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?

I call my style Neosurrealism, and I create works that explore the subconscious and self-realization, through symbolism and narrative.

What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?

I often fantasize about being a clog maker, an erotic novel writer, a park ranger or a Realtor.

Did you go to art school? Why/why not?

Yes, I loved art school. I am a proud graduate of the Academy University, with a BFA in illustration. I also studied art history abroad in Italy. I’m the first female in my family to earn a college degree. I was raised by a single mom, and my family and I worked really hard to put me through school. Making the decision to move away from the Northwest, where I grew up, to go to art school in California, was a radical shift that reset the course of my life. That said, I don’t believe art school is absolutely necessary to be an artist, as I know many successful artists who are self-taught.

But for me and my family, education was, and is, very important, and I really do feel my art degree legitimized my practice. It also armed me with an academic knowledge of art, essential for the lectures I now give at other institutions. I think that part of being an artist is forever being a student … always watching, always learning. In that spirit, since art school, most of my travel has revolved around art, and I’ve made a point to see many of the world’s masterpieces in person. These art trips have been the best times of my life, and there’s nothing like seeing a masterpiece in person. I’ll always be a student of art.

Read More: Meet an Artist Monday: Anne Faith Nicholls

Websites

http://www.annefaithnichollsart.com/
https://www.afncollection.com/