Artist Nicolas Holiber Blurs The Line Between Paint and Sculpture In His New Solo Show Shape-Shifter at Unit London.

Brooklyn-based artist Nicolas Holiber, renowned for his large-scale mixed-media work, inaugurates his new solo exhibition Shape-Shifter at Unit London. Holiber’s new body of work presents a collection of large and small scale impasto-style paintings bringing a fresh and fluid sense of ethereal motion. In Shape-Shifter, the artist delivers a heightened level of emotional intensity, painting his subjects as fleshy, warped, and open masses, revealing the complicated intricacy behind the human facade. 

This show marks the first time Holiber works from life; drawing inspiration from Francis Bacon’s iconic portraiture, we find some of his close friends and the artist himself as subjects - their facial features consumed by voluptuous brushes of vibrant colors stemming from his intuitive process of composition.

Like a Shape-Shifter, the works move and transform simultaneously in a batter of expressions both terrifying and pleasing. These new pieces invite us to look beyond superficial aesthetics to get a peek into raw human emotion, asking us how willing we are to look beyond someone or something at face value in order to reach alternate perspectives and find a new sense of reconciliation. 

Shape-Shifter opens 26 April, 2022 at Unit London and will run until 28 May 2022. 

About Nicolas Holiber: Born in 1985 in New York, Holiber grew up in a creative family and has been making pictures and objects since he was a child. Past awards and honors include public commissions for the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, NYC Parks Department, residencies at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Leipzig International Art Programme among others. In 2020 Holiber had a solo online exhibition with Unit London's Platform. Holiber has exhibited work throughout the USA and Europe. 

US Press contact: 

Alexandra Fanning | alexandra@alexandrafanning.com | (347) 468-0735

Gallery contact: press@unitlondon.com

About Unit London

Unit London was founded on the enterprising spirit of close childhood friends Joe Kennedy and Jonny Burt. Frustrated by the prohibitive and confounding industry mechanisms that restrict broad access to the art world for artists, enthusiasts, and would-be collectors alike, Joe and Jonny opened a small pop-up gallery space in an empty charity shop at the ages of 22 and 23, determined to build a business that encouraged access, engagement and opportunity for committed and talented artists. As young gallery owners initially showing their own paintings, they set out to develop a roster of international artists that embodied a shifting global culture of information sharing and global connectivity. The pair were, and are, uniquely placed to influence the evolution of the art industry and play a significant part in realigning its ingrained value systems through the relentless and purposeful championing of exceptional artist talent. 

Today, Joe and Jonny lead a diverse and multi-talented team of individuals in their London gallery who share in the mission of supporting the world's most exciting artists, and making their work accessible to the widest possible audience - in the ultimate pursuit of making art a more practical and valuable aspect of our world's cultures and societies.