Niki was a gifted and dynamic artist across many disciplines. This site is dedicated to her paintings.

Painting was an instinctual endeavor for Niki to express her ideas and capabilities not typically displayed in her performing career. From her earliest works, such as “Asian Elvis and Priscilla” where she explored cross-cultural iconography and identification with the entanglement of the male/female psyches; to the deeply personal exploration of loss and trauma in pieces such as “Ode to Spaz (Hummingbird)”; to her masterful, yet unconventional Mandalas that delved into relations between conscious & unconscious motivation, manifested archetypes and dream study such as “Significant Insignificance”; what remained constant in her work was her fearlessness, meticulous precision, tireless work ethic, and above all – complete originality.

She typically used acrylic on canvas as a base, but would play with differing mediums such as resin, wire mesh, oils, spray paint, patterned craft paper, various molds & stencils, photographs (self-portraits), and whatever else caught her eye. Her ability to achieve color gradations like those found in “Anxiety” was the result of pain-staking preparation and forethought. Her ability to lay bare her vulnerabilities such with “Stage Dream” was the result of bold conceptualization combined with personal daringness. Her process on its own was inspiring.

Niki’s first gallery show was scheduled to occur in the spring of 2020. She had been working on larger and more ambitious pieces and was entering a new period in her artistic life. What was to come, we can only imagine. It most certainly would have been brilliant. Sadly, the city of Los Angeles closed due to the pandemic, and between her MBC treatments and the move to Virginia, she was unable find another opportunity to share her art as she wanted – in a gallery setting amongst her friends and family. This collection would have comprised most of her show. Enjoy.