Nicholas Battis is a Brooklyn-based painter whose colorful, textured, and layered work investigates nature, process, the built environment, and the digital age. He received his MFA from Pratt Institute in 1989 and has been actively pursuing a career in the New York art scene ever since. His career in the arts is multifaceted, including art-making, curating, and consulting. He has had one-person shows of his painting at George Billis Gallery in New York and Los Angeles; Judy Saslow, Chicago; and Court Tree Collective, Brooklyn.
Artist Statement
My paintings and works on paper are explorations, utilizing aqua media and mark-making with a vibrant palette. I manipulate diluted paints using elemental forces such as air, water, and gravity. My process, devoid of predetermined results and fueled by experimentation, emphasizes layering with an open framework of marks. Transparent pigments are often employed to unveil a visual history, creating a see-through effect that archaeologically exposes the work’s evolution, further emphasized by selectively removing layers.
My work resonates with scientists and mathematicians who discern an intuitive connection to their fields. They relate to the use of drawing techniques reminiscent of computer wireframes, and the deliberate overlapping of forms that avoids obscuring and serves as a pattern-making approach that references morphology and fractal geometry. Time is also a crucial dimension, capturing moments and freezing the movement of drips and gestures.
I view my paintings, created with dense visual information, as a metaphor for the shift in experience brought about by social networks, constant connectivity, and a bombardment of data. Like my artistic process, the evolution of my work defies linearity, weaving through various stages, revisiting old ideas, and building upon my visual vocabulary of mark-making. Ultimately, the magic lies not just in the final object but in the creative struggle itself—a tangible record of the profound act of creativity.
Contact me at nicholas.battis@gmail.com and follow me on Instagram
By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Nicholas Battis 