Nick Thomm: Heavens — Nick Thomm

The Hole is proud to present our second solo exhibition by Nick Thomm. In a dramatic installation of paintings and light works, this enigmatic abstract artist activates all corners of our Bowery space to place color on parade. The dense lozenges of color in his paintings are glowing, glossy blocks of luminosity. Taking cues and concerns from the California Light and Space movement, as well as a hefty dose of contemporary design and car culture, Thomm wields color to overwhelm and intrigue through mysterious materials and processes.

This is not technically his first solo in New York, but indeed it is his most comprehensive solo exhibition anywhere. HEAVENS is full of paintings that have a dreamlike and euphoric feel to them. Their gradations are subtle, but the colour is intense: like a Jolly Rancher or a Lamborghini, they explode upon your senses. Thomm builds up the color in many layers then spends a lot of physical labour to get the perfect finish with inches-thick clear resin. The color combinations in this show are semi-scientific but mostly spontaneous to maximize intensity through experimentation.

For an artist who is a polymath working across genres and not solely in a commercial gallery setting, this New York show is a a homecoming of sorts, or at least a full-circle moment for Thomm. He lived in New York ten years ago and made a promise to himself to focus more seriously on his art career, so this major exhibition a decade later is the fulfillment of a promise to himself, and his audience, to return to a gallery setting and all the concerns and parameters and opportunities therein.

Nick Thomm (b. 1988, Melbourne) is an Australian multi-disciplinary visual artist widely recognized for his large-scale hyper-color “spectral paintings” and immersive digital installations that blur the physical and digital worlds. Splitting his time between Los Angeles and Melbourne, Thomm first appeared at The Hole in 2024’s Sudden Synethesia at our Los Angeles gallery. He has presented solo booths at Design Miami Basel and Miami Beach, has been included in group exhibitions at prestigious institutions like the New Museum in New York, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the MOCO Museum in Barcelona. He has built a prolific career through high-profile collaborations with luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co., and he famously wrapped a custom McLaren supercar for the Miami F1 Grand Prix. His pop-culture influence also extends to major digital takeovers, like London’s W1 Curates three-story video wall, and creating custom artwork for pop star Miley Cyrus.