About — Nieko McDaniel

Click here to access Nieko's Curriculum Vitae

BIOGRAPHY:
Growing up in Southern California, Nieko McDaniel (b.1995) was influenced by Graffiti, Rap, and the desire for an urban lifestyle. McDaniel makes work about Identity & World-Building which is under the umbrella of Escapism and is seen in the type of entertainment the generation (the Millennials) he grew up part of prefer. Examples he gives are the genres of literature, music, movies, television, and games they consume. McDaniel believes reality is something we try to escape through simulation and invention. He comments on this idea by using materials that have an inherent history and function but re-purposes them to fit his vision.
In 2024, McDaniel had two solo exhibitions titled What's, Around, Found, and Scrounged at the Hiram Van Gordon Gallery at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN and Patience...& However Possible at The Sechrest Gallery at High Point University in High Point, NC.
Currently, McDaniel is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Art in Painting & Drawing at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

Superfluous Container
This artwork is about being an empty shell of a person. Compared to my other works, there is no imagery or cardboard woven into the grid which is a reference to emptiness. The mirror is there to force you to reflect and questi

Pane-Full Ruins 5
This series is influenced by the noir comic book style of illustration and color. Incorporating my research of world-building, I use the material’s inherent nature and characteristics and mold it to my intentions to express

Remembering Where you Come From
Part of my “Yarn Bombings” series this work was to ground me and remind me of my beginnings. That being what got me into art (graffiti) and the materials I started making what I consider major works with

Handshake
One of the first I made during residency. It is a marker of my relationship with the residency as time goes by. In the beginning the yarn is vibrant and full of color but as the residency got closer to ending the yarn dulls in color. Th

3-D Puzzle
A throwback to a study. In this work I was practicing perspective, form, and color. I aimed to create the form with color shifting from lights to cools.
.
.
.
.
#art #fineart #studioart #wallart #painting #puzzle #pieces #puzzlepieces #

Totem Deity Staff
My ongoing series of totem carvings and casts reference all types of gods, deities, beings, and things worshiped around the world. The goal of the series is to show the importance people place on their personal belief systems and

My Decaying Mind
A throwback to my first art series “Forever Continuously Infinite.” These 3 brains were a representative of my mind decaying through the stress put on myself to achieve perfection. This is represented in the change of c

Is Block Head Your Friend?
From my “Forever A Child” series in this artwork I create a remake of an assignment that my childhood bully made about me which was a “wonderful” short story about me. Please read.
.
.
.
.
#art #fin

Blueprint 9
The “Blueprints” are a mini-series in of small individual pieces that were to inform a future larger piece. The “Blueprints” series aims to create an environment and dimensions through the layers I create from ad

A Common King
“A Common King” is a personal commentary on America’s social, political, and religious realm. Though I was raised religious and do have political standpoints, my goal is to make the viewer realize that the systems tha

Wall Weaving Capitalism
Another work in my weaving lab series, in this piece I comment on the system of Capitalism through the materials and logos that I weave into the metal grid. This was made when I was living in the nations capital through a ti

More Bananas Please
Another artwork in my “Yarn Bombing series, this works moniker is created completely with yarn glued on cardboard. The cardboard is exposed in certain areas to display different textures.
.
.
.
.
#art #artist #artistoninst

Pane-Full Ruins 6
One of my pieces in the “Pane-Full Ruins” series, this artwork continues the discussion of repurposing items and environments for inhabitance which is a sub category within world-building.
.
.
.
.
#art #fineart #studi

You’ve Been Naughty
Part of my “Forever a Child” series, this piece speaks on a memory I have from childhood. One day as a kid I was being naughty during the summer and my Mom threatened to call Santa Claus. I continued to act up,

Functional Imbalance
“Functional Imbalance” talks about my endeavors to balance offers and opportunities in my life from continuing my education with Ph.D. offers, residency offers, being a professor, making art, and having a personal li

“Smile”
“Smile” is about multiple conversations of posing for a photo. One being that on our own terms we are more than willing and happy to pose for selfies or group photos. Two being that we hate to pose for photographs that

An Addictive Personality (6 pack or six-pack)
“An Addictive Personality (6 pack or six-pack)” is negative self-portrait of myself that others may relate to as well. This piece has to do with the addiction of being self-conscious of the

“Slip Space”
“Slip Space” is integrated into the stairwell of a break room where employees get rest from the difficult manual labor. I created this artwork so that it may serve as a symbol of rest as employees make their way

“Perfect Symetrical Attraction”
Yes, the word “symmetrical” is purposely spelled incorrectly in the title. The second piece in my “Forever Continuously Infinite Series,” this works speaks specifically on my strugg

“Where you goin” (Geometrix Set)
When this work is displayed it can be standing up-right posing as a drum or it can be a sculpture laying down that can roll and show its different gradients of greens. This work and the others of this s

INSTAGRAM: @niekosart

Contact Form

Name

First Name

Last Name

Subject

Message

Click the “contact” button to get in touch with Nieko.