Nicolas Shake b. 1981, California, US

Nicolas Shake’s practice is rooted in an observational approach to his surroundings, capturing fragments of urban life with an acute sensitivity to light, atmosphere, and time. Best known for his subleached dye on canvas works created by leaving canvases in the sun and letting the sun and weather impact the surface for months on end, he also works in photography, documenting the shifting landscape of Los Angeles through images of building facades, billboards, and signage—ephemeral markers of the city’s visual identity. These instant photographs, with their distinctive color shifts and physical imperfections, create an archive of urban transience, emphasizing the tension between permanence and obsolescence.

Nicolas Shake (b. 1981, Northridge, CA) lives and works between Los Angeles and Pearblossom, CA. He received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008, and his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2011. Shake was an artist in residence at the Chinati Foundation in 2019. Shake has had solo exhibitions at Megan Mulrooney, Los Angeles, CA in 2025 and 2026. Recent group exhibitions include: JOHS NY, New York; The Hole, Los Angeles, CA; Asymmetrical Orbits, University of La Verne Harris Gallery, La Verne, CA; Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Galeria Mascota, Mexico City; Iʼll Be Your Mirror, Brant-Timonier, Palm Beach, FL.