born 2003 in huntington, new york
lives and works in tallahassee, fl
nicolina morra’s oil paintings investigate longing as a driving force in the human experience. disillusionment with current conditions, coupled with the desire for an unattainable ideal, can manifest in a search for meaning through secular forms of worship, where power is ascribed to certain figures, rituals, and objects. morra’s work examines how these forces of longing and devotion reflect the search for transcendence in the everyday.
central to her practice is the re-contextualization of images drawn from her expanding personal archive, such as stills from cult cinema, contemporary popular culture, and found photographs of anonymous individuals. the original context of these images is disrupted and imbued with new layers of meaning through selective cropping and a blurred painting technique, often paired with hyper-realistic depictions of things that plays with the tension between what is within and just out of reach. this process situates her work between the archive and the altar: the archive as a repository of collective memory and imagery, and the altar as a space where these fragments are elevated into symbols of contemporary secular worship and the pursuit of something more.
regular updates on instagram
all enquiries can be sent to nicolinamorra@gmail.com
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Looking for Something in the Sky, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL (upcoming)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 So Real, LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA (upcoming)
2025 Everything I’ve Ever Known, Working Method Contemporary Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2025 Slipcover, Point Blank, Chicago, IL
2025 Excellence in Art Exhibition, Honors Scholars and Fellows House, Tallahassee, FL
2025 Locust Technician, Venvi Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2025 Apricari, William Johnston Building Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2025 Emergence, Bascom Center for the Visual Arts, Highlands, NC
2025 Myriad, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2025 Echo Locator, Field Projects, Online, New York, NY
2024 Trompe L’oeil, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2024 Expo, Working Method Contemporary Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Small Works, Jag Gallery, Key West, FL
2024 Art is Everywhere, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Engagement Archive, Fine Arts Building Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Interplay, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Reserves, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Everything But the Kitchen Sink, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2024 THOM Collective, Thomasville Center for the Arts, Thomasville, GA
2024 Excellence in Art Exhibition, Honors Scholars and Fellows House, Tallahassee, FL
2024 Bite From the Apple, Gadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FL
2024 Ouroboros, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2024 BFA Showcase, Carnegie Arts Building Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2023 THOM Collective, Thomasville Center for the Arts, Thomasville, GA
2023 Paracosm, William Johnston Building Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2023 Lorem Ipsum, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2023 Flowing Substances, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
2022 Art From the Home, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
PUBLICATIONS
2024 Naked Truth, Planned Parenthood of Central and Southwest Florida, Issue 6
2024 The Kudzu Review, Florida State University, Issue 72
HONORS & AWARDS
2024 Mary Brown Ostlund Award, Florida State University, FL
2024 Bess H. Ward Honors Thesis Award, Florida State University, FL
2024 IDEA Grant Undergraduate Research Award, Florida State University, FL
2023 Ruth Owen Endowed Scholarship, Florida State University, FL