A little bit of bragging is in order.
My cousin Nicki Green has her first solo exhibition of her work at a major museum. It opened last week at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. The show is called Firmament, and is on through Feb 2, 2025.
She also has another related exhibition Eye of the Fountain at gallery CULT Aimee
Friberg that runs through November 16 also in San Francisco
Her work is ceramic based, and celebrates and explores liminality and the interplay between Judaism, trans identity, and transformation. The press release says it a lot better than I can:
This September, The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM) will present Nicki Green: Firmament, the transdisciplinary artist’s first solo museum exhibition. In this presentation, Green explores identity, transformation, and Jewish tradition through artworks that invoke imagery of fermentation, Jewish ritual, mycelium, and more. Bringing together new and existing works, the exhibition will include large-scale sculptures, fiber works, ritual objects, and drawings. The exhibition will be on view September 5, 2024 through February 2, 2025.
Green’s inspiration for this exhibition comes from the concept of the firmament — a thin dome or expanse referenced in the Book of Genesis that divides the earth from the heavens. This form of separation in the Torah offers Green a reference to imagine an architectural object that functions as a sanctuary for in-between states of being and thinking, and an environment of warmth, welcome, and liberation for trans and nonbinary bodies.
The central sculpture appears as a large tent-like structure situated in the center of the gallery and frames several of the large-scale clay works on view. In addition to the firmament, the structure is inspired by descriptions of the biblical mishkan or tabernacle — a portable sanctuary constructed by the Jewish people to represent God’s earthly domain while in exile. The “skin” of the tent — a sculpture made by Green’s longtime collaborator, artist Ricki Dwyer — is woven to reach up to the heavens, while also anchoring and sheltering the artworks and bodies in the space. READ THE REST OF THE PRESS RELEASE
A couple of years ago I went to the Lyons Bienniale because she had some work featured in it, I spent a couple of days roaming the Bienniale, hanging out with her and her husband and her friends (including Ricki Dwyer, who collaborated on the main sculpture for this exhibit, and basically enjoying Lyons. Eye of the Fountain was featured in the Lyons exhibit.
And my family went and visited her in Wisconsin on a very snowy day when she was in residence at the Kohler factory. Eye of the Fountain. This appeared at the Lyons Bienniale
Nicki and I when we visited together at the Kohler |
Nicki's a really talented artist who puts a lot of meaning and thought into her work. I am so proud of her for slugging it out in the competitive art world, doing what she loves, and yes, making it happen. I know how hard it is to stick your guns as an artist.
For more information about the exhibition, and ticket prices, visit the Contemporary Jewish Museum's website: https://www.thecjm.org/exhibitions/236. And you can read the text of her exhibition here: https://tinyurl.com/nickigreenfirmamenttext
Information about her exhibit at Cult Aimee Friberg is here:
https://cultexhibitions.com/exhibition/eye-of-the-fountain/
You can also read these reviews of her exhibition here:
SF Gate article https://tinyurl.com/nickigreensfgat2024
Kqed review https://tinyurl.com/nickigreenkqed2024
Hey Alma: https://tinyurl.com/nickigreen-heyalma