Bio

Zoe Nichols is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in the Pacific Northwest. Her work, primarily installation and sculptural works, ponders the visual language of absence. The worn steps of a cathedral are her muse. A love of philosophy and an attention to index and light play important roles in her writing and art practices.

Nichols graduated Spring of 2024 from Watkins College of Art at Belmont University with a B.A. in Art Studies and Philosophy. She has studied abroad in Spain and Ireland with an additional semester at The Oregon Extension. During her undergraduate career, Zoe was awarded the Rising Junior Award, the Rising Senior Award, and the Cyril V. Evans Outstanding Student Award. Nichols is also the recipient of the Sandra Hutchinson’s Non-Fiction Writing Award and Innovative Concept Award. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Nashville and Birmingham. Her 2024 thesis exhibition was a synthesis of her art and philosophy degrees as she examined the presence found in absence and light. Upon graduating, Nichols continued her research by attending a Skycave Dark Retreat in Southern Oregon with the generous aid of the Walter and Sarah Knestrick Award. This involved sitting in absolute darkness for four consecutive days. After attending the retreat in January, she was offered a summer job at Skycave making food for the people in the dark. Nichols developed her most recent body of work, These Walls are My Skin, while living and working there.