WHO IS NIKKI STAKS?

Nikki Staks is a contemporary artist currently based northwest FL. Nikki’s work is culturally relevant, while simultaneously thought provoking. Her inspiration can come from anywhere, at any given moment, and her passion and hustle is unparalleled. As an emerging artist, Nikki Staks utilizes her unique fusion of mixed media that results in the breakdown of social stigmas. The premise of her style is dominantly pop culture, high fashion, urban hype or aesthetic focus.

WHAT INSPIRES THE CREATIVITY OF NIKKI STAKS?

Nikki Stak’s inspiration comes from things that are culturally relevant in our society. She loves taking something familiar and placing it within a new concept or environment, that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. She is very inspired by music and there is typically an underlying connotation in her work that relates to a song or artist. Nikki Stak’s favorite musical artists that move her the most are A$AP Rocky and Kanye West. While their lyrics and music significantly inspires her, it is their demeanor, confidence and fashion sense that makes the largest impact.

HOW DID NIKKI STAKS FIRST GET STARTED AS AN ARTIST?

Nikki Staks has always been incredibly creative, even as a child. She took art classes growing up and while she was in college, Nikki Staks started her own screen printing company, where she completed the entire intricate printing process herself, start to finish. She would design, print, market and sell custom clothing. During this time, Nikki Staks was under the assumption that she need a “stable” career path and doing something creative didn’t necessarily quality as that. She felt the pressures of certain expectations to reach her potential through a successful career. After obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science, Nikki Staks had intentions of going to medical school to be a physician. However, once she started clinical rotations, she quickly realized that was not her calling, nor what she desired to do for the rest of her life. Nikki Staks made the deicision to drop medicine and leveraged her innate design and technical abilities. With that, Nikki Staks started freelance marketing, design and branding, which gave her the freedom to completely dive into her creative talents. Nikki Staks began painting and that is where she discovered her long-lost passion. Since then, Nikki Staks does what she loves and creates every single day. This allowed me to start painting and that is where I found my passion.

WHO INFLUENCES NIKKI STAKS?

Jean-Michel Basquiat plays a massive role in the inspiration and direction of Nikki Staks as an artist. He is her all-time favorite artist and she admires how he made an incredible impact in such a short time in a world that wasn’t quite ready for him. She is intrigued by his process, his deeper meaning and his subliminal messages. Jean-Michel forces you to critically think and question what lies beyond the surface. 
King Saladeen really motivates Nikki Staks to reach her fullest potential. His style and mediums are similar to hers, focusing heavy on pop art and culturally relevant subjects. Nikki Staks relates to him because our stories are similar – he did not start out as artist, yet he has taken his talents and used them to launch into another level. After his basketball career came to an abrupt halt, he worked as a design artist for a clothing company and after encouragement from a friend, he pursued his venture in art. Since then, he has made groundbreaking collaborations with the New York Stock Exchange, Neiman Marcus and Champion. King Saladeen has become such an influential artist that is defining the future of the art world  and completely revolutionizing what artists can do in today’s society. 
Ashley Longshore is one of Nikki Stak’s main influences. She love the fact that Ashley is confident in herself and doesn’t seek validation or approval from anyone else. She leaves everything on the canvas and you either absolutely love it or loathe – either way, it doesn’t bother her one bit. She has made groundbreaking history as a female artist, doing things that have never been done before, such as being the first female to have a solo exhibit at Bergdorf Goodman. Nikki loves her unique style filled with bright colors, patterns and sparkle.