Through fieldwork in regional public parks and designated wilderness areas, Nichole van Beek situates her current work within the ecological context of the Appalachian Mountains—among the oldest mountain ranges globally and widely recognized as the most biodiverse region in North America. Her paintings are rooted in careful, direct observation, with a focus on common native flora, fauna, fungi, and their interrelated habitats. In light of the region’s history of industrial extraction—where coal mining, logging, and fracking have reshaped and polluted the landscape—and the emerging pressures posed by the rapid expansion of data center construction, her work foregrounds and materially acknowledges the multitude of lifeforms that co-inhabit this shared environment.
Foraging or growing, extracting, and preparing color have become integral to van Beek’s creative process, deepening her relationship with the land and its natural cycles. Her paintings are made with natural dyes derived from plants and insects, materials that are inherently regenerative and biodegradable. Unlike conventional paints, these organic colorants possess a living quality; their hues shift and mature over time, embodying the material vitality of their sources.
In a broader context, van Beek has spent the past decade researching sustainable material practices with deep dives into natural dyes, mycocomposites (aka mushroom foam), kombucha biofilm, and DIY bioplastics. The goal has been to move towards a greater circular economy in studio practice, with a focus on using locally available and biodegradable materials in order to cut back on emissions, pollution, and waste.
Nichole van Beek received her BFA from the Cooper Union in 1998 and her MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2007. She has exhibited work at Jeff Bailey Gallery, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Morgan Lehman Gallery, Big Ramp Gallery, Ortega y Gasset and Tiger Strikes Asteroid, among other spaces. She has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Jentel Foundation, Socrates Sculpture Park, and Kingsbrae International Residency for the Arts, and has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History. A former long-term resident of New York City, she has lived in Morgantown, West Virginia since 2022 and is currently teaching painting, foundations, and Art and Environment at West Virginia University.
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