Nikki Maloof: Nervous Appetite Nino Mier Gallery is pleased to announce the solo exhibition 'Nervous Appetite' with recent paintings and works on paper by Nikki Maloof. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, opening November 21st through December 19th, 2020. While Massachusetts-based Nikki Maloof has created a unique pictorial language around the depiction of domestic animals, the current exhibition of the artist’s work depicts still lifes of salmon steaks, gutted chard, dismembered crab legs, and sliced swordfish. Unlike the Dutch paintings of Pieter Aertsen, Meat Stall, and Joachim Buckelaer, Fish Market, that inspire Maloof’s "memento mori" paintings, there is not an abundance of food nor a choice in meats, rather through the singular depiction of decapitated and disemboweled fish the artist builds a pervasive feeling of discomfort and scarcity. 'Nervous Appetite' is a visceral investigation of the sourcing, preparation, cooking, enjoyment and après-repas of a grotesque, yet compelling feast. From market to table, Maloof’s scenes are both appealing and indisputably bleak. Within the multiple kitchens and table settings forming part of this series, viewers are left to wonder whether we are observing the beginning or end of the meal and whether there is a social parable or political allegory to be gleaned from the scarcity presented. Undeniable, however, is the overwhelming presence of fish. Throughout the history of art, fish have been polysemic and Maloof navigates their many meanings, from the religious to the bourgeois, in her paintings. Maloof anthropomorphizes the dead fish with pleading eyes and slight grins on their slimy lips. While initially inspired by the formal problems of painting metallic scales, the artist was drawn to the inherent duality in painting fish, to portray them not as symbols of death but as symbols of life. In representing this inherent tragicomedy of life, Maloof creates a balance between the taboo and the familiar. ------------------------------ Brianna Rose Brooks: The way things go Nino Mier Gallery is thrilled to host one of the most exciting galleries in New York, Deli Gallery, in Los Angeles. The gallery will present a solo exhibition of Brianna Rose Brooks, their first in Los Angeles, entitled 'The way things go.' Brianna Rose Brooks (b. 1997) is a nonbinary Black artist originally from Providence, Rhode Island. They lived in Chicago for four years where they received a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They are currently pursuing an MFA in Painting from the Yale School of Art in New Haven. The way things go is Brianna Rose Brooks' second exhibition with Deli Gallery, New York. Book a reservation: https://www.miergallery.com/reservations/reservations