Abstract Artist Showcases Her Definitive Style

Artist Nikki Sclair is bringing a touch of the 1960s and 70s to Mineola with her solo exhibition at the PACE Center.

Uniting organic and familiar forms, Sclair is able to capture a sense of playfulness within a larger context of tension. Her work demonstrates the relationships between forms and how they all connect to one another.

“Her work is very unusual and is all one thing,” PACE Center curator Phyllis Goodfriend said. “It is very colorful and interrelated forms with abstraction. When you look at them you can see the relationships between one form and another. It’s like six degrees of separation – they are all in the same format or vein.”

The exhibition showcases the most recent series Sclair has been working on, which she began a few years ago. Basing her inspiration off of the Merry Prankster buses, Sclair says that she gets a lot of motivation from the 1970’s, the counterculture movement and all of the decorative items that came from that era.

“They are really inspired by the fact that everything is connected and influence by contact,” Sclair said. “I take my inspiration from everyday things. I like to use really bright colors to push and pull space to attract colors”

The paintings play off one another, with every internal aspect being affected by another in some way. The bold colors are put in with acrylic and latex paints and Sclair uses marker to bring her powerful ideas to life.

“It is a very exciting art – very different, very cutting edge,” Goodfriend said.

When she started the series she numbered the paintings so viewers could see how they changed in time. Each piece has an unspoken intricacy, bringing the organic shapes to life.

“You can really see the comparison of how I get my inspiration from them,” Sclair said. “As I progress my colors have gotten brighter and tighter.”

Sclair was introduced to the Long Island Center of Photography – which facilitates the PACE Center – by Mineola Mayor Lawrence Werther, who also presented her with an award at her opening reception.

She has shown previously at the 220 Gallery in Manhattan and Hofstra University’s Kaufman Gallery, among others. She has another show scheduled at the during summer 2012.

Receiving her BFA in Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2006, Sclair is now working on her Masters in Humanities in the Comparative Arts and Culture program.

Sclair’s solo show runs at the PACE Center through March 10. Residents interested in attending should call the center at 516-741-5141.

The next exhibit features photographer and graphic designer Keith Warhola and will run from March 15 through May 13. Warhola’s opening reception will be held on March 26 from 4 to 6 p.m.