Arcmanoro Niles
(b. 1989)Painter Arcmanoro Niles’s work is recognizable for his deeply saturated and glitter-infused depictions of domestic, everyday scenes.
Biography
The artist attended Duke Ellington High School, where he harnessed an interest in the arts. During his time as a student, a teacher taught him about sixteenth-century Italian painters, and later Niles focused his attention on two subsequent painters from the canon in particular: the French Romantic Eugène Delacroix and Italian Baroque Caravaggio.
This introduction motivated Niles to push the boundaries of form and light in his own works and sparked his interest in figurative drawing. He often carried a sketchbook with him, drawing as much as time would allow. He later developed an affinity for painting and a BFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2013 and an MFA from New York Academy of Art in 2015. He then became an artist in residence at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2018.
After his grandparents passed away while he was an undergraduate student, Niles began employing personal photographs and memories of childhood as references in his paintings. As he began to experiment with painting domestic spaces and family life, he grew frustrated at oil paint’s inability to capture the opacity and complexion of his subjects. From there, the artist began to employ hues of orange, pink, purple, blue, and green, as well as layering oil paint over acrylic. Niles also incorporates gremlin-like doodles, or what he calls “seekers,” which are inspired by Egyptian fertility sculptures.
Niles has had exhibitions at numerous institutions, such as the Hessel Museum of Art; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. His work is held in public and private collections globally, including at the Aïshti Foundation, Jal el Dib, Lebanon; Bronx Museum of the Arts; Dallas Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, New Jersey; and The Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum first acquired Niles’s work in 2018.
Arcmanoro Niles
(b. 1989)Painter Arcmanoro Niles’s work is recognizable for his deeply saturated and glitter-infused depictions of domestic, everyday scenes.
Biography
The artist attended Duke Ellington High School, where he harnessed an interest in the arts. During his time as a student, a teacher taught him about sixteenth-century Italian painters, and later Niles focused his attention on two subsequent painters from the canon in particular: the French Romantic Eugène Delacroix and Italian Baroque Caravaggio.
This introduction motivated Niles to push the boundaries of form and light in his own works and sparked his interest in figurative drawing. He often carried a sketchbook with him, drawing as much as time would allow. He later developed an affinity for painting and a BFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2013 and an MFA from New York Academy of Art in 2015. He then became an artist in residence at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2018.
After his grandparents passed away while he was an undergraduate student, Niles began employing personal photographs and memories of childhood as references in his paintings. As he began to experiment with painting domestic spaces and family life, he grew frustrated at oil paint’s inability to capture the opacity and complexion of his subjects. From there, the artist began to employ hues of orange, pink, purple, blue, and green, as well as layering oil paint over acrylic. Niles also incorporates gremlin-like doodles, or what he calls “seekers,” which are inspired by Egyptian fertility sculptures.
Niles has had exhibitions at numerous institutions, such as the Hessel Museum of Art; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. His work is held in public and private collections globally, including at the Aïshti Foundation, Jal el Dib, Lebanon; Bronx Museum of the Arts; Dallas Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, New Jersey; and The Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum first acquired Niles’s work in 2018.