Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, MI., now residing in Austin, TX, self-taught, contemporary artist, Nicole Gavin's, exposure to culture and history fostered a lifelong love of the arts. Her grandmother was an artist and her family, large contributors to the Detroit Institute of Arts, have engulfed her in the art world since she was a child. Although she never picked up a paintbrush until late
2010, Gavin has made a name for herself with her paintings being found in a myriad of private collections throughout the United States, as well being featured in various group, solo exhibitions and international art competitions. Most recently her piece, “Garden State”, was chosen as the new label and namesake for Southern Star Brewing Company's, mandarina hop infused hefeweizen, Garden State, which was distributed throughout Texas starting September 10th, 2016. 700 cases and 70 kegs were released. http://southernstarbrewing.com/beers/art-can-series/garden-state-hefeweizen/
In May of 2014, Nicole was chosen to show at one of the largest, International Art Competitions, “ArtPrize”, held from September 24, 2014 through October 12, 2014, in Grand Rapids, MI. Her artwork was also used (front/back covers and song lyric sleeves) for the debut album of Detroit, MI based band, RACEcarraceCAR. Gavin paints in several styles to include Surrealism, Fauvism, Figurative and Pop Art, using bright colors and bold brush strokes that gives her art a unique symbolic vocabulary, which can be used to visually translate a range of emotions, rather than describe a scene. Her subjects include female nude forms, celebrities, the subconscious, nature, Native American imagery, Southeast Asian spiritual themes and a mix of cultural taboos. Known mostly for her vivid color and unflinching depictions of nude forms, Gavin's paintings have been dubbed as, “passionate, visceral, structural, immediate, raw, spontaneous, chaotic, colorful, edgy, vibrant, dynamic, cool, urban and soulful”, creating a unique visual language with depth and feeling. “You feel her energy jump from the canvas”. She is diverse and unpredictable, using different materials, themes, textures and techniques. Gavin creates her paintings with joy and reverence, as a celebration of love and life. She works from life, drawings, photographs, emotion, poetry and a lot of imagination. Her pallet is the study of, “the world around us, the world inside us, and the new realities we create”. Solo exhibitions include:
• “CHA Presents Nicole Gavin”, CHA Champagne and Wine Bar; Houston, TX, July 2012
• “The Newfangled”, Public House Heights; Houston, TX, May 2013 - August 2013
• “Naked Women and Dirty Thoughts”, The Next Door; Houston, TX, May 2014
• “A Matter of Colour”, The Next Door; Houston, TX, January 2016
• StarrStruck Gallery; Clear Lake Shores, TX, June 2016
• “The Artwork of Nicole Gavin”, Public House Heights; Houston, TX, May 2015
• Drink of Ages; Houston, TX, October 2016
• Southern Star Brewing Company; Conroe, TX, September 2016
• Skallywags Suds N’ Grub; Kemah, TX, September 2016
• The Point Park & Eats; San Antonio, TX, September 2016
• GS 1221; San Antonio, TX, September 2016
• The Proletariat Gallery, Galveston, TX "Anything but Boring", 7/15/17 - 8/25/17
Group exhibitions include:
• Houston Free Press Artopia; Houston, TX, 2012 - 2016
• Houston Art Crawl 2012 – 2014; Houston, TX - Atelier Jacquinet International Fine Arts Studio, Elder Street Artist Lofts and Hardy and Nance Studios)
• BeHuman Gallery; Houston, TX (Cargocollective.com) – “Bisou” January 2014
• Jomar Visions Hardy and Nance Street Studio; Houston, TX – 6 group shows throughout 2012-2014
• BeHuman Gallery – “Citizens of the World”; Houston, TX, April 2014
• Houston Wine Festival 2011
• Winter Street Studios; Houston, TX, June 2014
• Kallinen Contemporary Gallery; Houston, TX, August 2015
• Watson and Huff Gallery; Kingwood, TX, 2014
• Tangent Gallery; Detroit, MI, “DAMNED VII – An Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness Fine Art”, October 30th-November 1st 2014 (www.thatdamnedshow.com)
• G Gallery, Houston, TX
• Ben’s Beans; Houston, TX, “Bare Walls”, March 2015
• The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Woman of the Year Auction Event at The Marque, Houston, TX, May 2015
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Press:
http://southernstarbrewing.com/beers/art-can-series/garden-state-hefeweizen/
• StarrStruck Gallery Solo Show - http://www.starrstruckgallery.com/featured-artist-nicole-gavin.html
• Southern Star Brewing Co., Garden State Art Can Release with label and namesake by Nicole Gavin - http://tenemu.com/news/southern-stars-garden-state-debuting-this-summer/04/2016
• Houston Press 2014 Artopia: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2014/01/fashion_art_merge_beautifully.php
• https://publichouseart.wordpress.com/tag/nicole-gavin/
• Garden State art can release by Southern Star Brewing Co. - http://houstonbeerguide.com/2016-the-rise-of-southern-star/
• Southern Star Brewing Co's, Garden State label and namesake by Nicole Gavin - https://untappd.com/b/southern-star-brewing-company-garden-state/1707058
• Garden State Release and Art Showing with artist, Nicole Gavin - https://etrigg.com/event/garden-state-beer-release-and-art-gallery-showing/35113583/
• Garden State Youtube Review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg3bOsR3dg8
• Release party Garden State - https://www.timeout.com/houston/things-to-do/garden-state-party-at-skallywags
• Artcrawl 2014 featured artist via The Leader: http://www.theleadernews.com/index.php/art-la-carte-heights-artist-featured-22nd-annual-artcrawl-houston/
• Artcrawl 2014 Artist featured in Kingwood, TX, Humble, TX, Lake Houston, TX, Montgomery, TX, and Atascocita, TX Online Papers: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/east_montgomery/living/jury-panel-selects-artists-for-artcrawl-houston/article_1457320d-d384-50fe-8969-cf600c52fb9f.html
• http://whichcraftbeerstore.com/stone-go-to-six-packs-just-6-99-while-supplies-last/
• http://www.artshound.com/event/detail/441781111/The_Newfangled_artwork_by_Nicole_Gavin
