Nick Kline

Creative Director, Express Newark, Founder & Director, SHINE Portrait Studio

Nick Kline is a conceptual artist whose multidisciplinary works focus on interiority, place, spirit, and transcendence. He is Founder & Director of SHINE Portrait Studio, (2006/2017- present), a foundational project of Express Newark. SHINE reimagines a community ”Main Street” photo studio activated by free access, public programs, artist residencies, exhibitions, and publications. As Creative Director of Express Newark, (2021 – Present), he is a key member of the collaborative team cultivating education, exhibitions, and residencies. By shaping the art center’s physical facility as a social sculpture artwork, SHINE, Express Newark, he brings back the ambiance and luxury-meets-art-studio vibe as a nod to the history of the building as a department store. This creation of inviting spaces amplifies the organization’s mission of empowering people to see themselves in the place.

His work Stripes for St. Joseph (2015-2016) transformed a former Catholic church in Grand Rapids, MI, into an advocacy space in a gentrifying neighborhood. Hyperallergic Magazine named Stripes for St. Joseph in the Best of 2015 Top 10 Exhibitions Across the USA, and it was Shortlisted as a finalist for ArtPrize, Installation award. Other exhibitions include Allentown Museum of Art; Berlinskej Model; Center for Book Arts and Media; Cuchifritos; Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park; Minnesota Center for Photography; Momenta Art; Occurrence Gallery; Open Source Gallery; Smack Mellon Studios. His collaborative GlassBook Project, (2009-2017) exhibitions include Grounds for Sculpture; Museum of American Glass; Museum of Art of Puerto Rico; Project for Empty Space.


His artists’ publications have been featured in a Printed Matter, Inc. Window Installation, and he was commissioned by UNTITLED. Editions to create work for UNTITLED. Art Fair. His artists’ books have been published by Schlebrugge Editor, Endless Editions, and are in the permanent collections of the Getty Research Institute; Harvard Art Museums; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art; and others.

He has been awarded grants and residencies including Artexte, Montreal, Canada; Center for Contemporary Arts, Prague, Czech Republic; Chancellor’s Award for Community Engagement in Teaching, Rutgers University-Newark; Creative Catalyst Grant, City of Newark, NJ; Foundation for Contemporary Art, Emergency Grant Award. An Associate Professor and Coordinator of Fine Arts at Rutgers University-Newark, he holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from the University of the Arts.

Contact Info

domkline@newark.rutgers.edu

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