Photo Credit: Jeff Cancelosi
BIO
Nia Crutcher’s work explores her experiences as a black woman and the ways she feels connected to the different aspects of her identity. her art puts a heavy emphasis on hair and the different ways having kinky, coily, and curly hair relates to the natural world. Nia explores this through painting and ceramics. Nia has participated in exhibitions from Detroit to Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. Nia’s most recent solo show was “a black girl’s garden,” a show she curated herself that took place in the Eastern Michigan University Intermedia Student Gallery in March of 2024. Nia graduated in December of 2024 from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s in fine arts. Nia plans after graduation include attending a Master of Fine Arts program in the Fall of 2025.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The overarching theme in the majority of my work is the black experience, and more specifically, what it means to be a black woman. I explore the things we live through that add to the different aspects of our identities. Although it is not the main subject in every piece, hair is a defining feature in the black community and my art because it holds so much weight in and over our lives. My work is a reflection of myself, and I give life to my personal experiences through multiple mediums. The main goal is to give insight into the black experience and how our hair plays a big part in it.
I work with surrealism, experimenting with the idea that the natural world and natural hair are similar in the ways we take care of it, view it, and talk about it. black hair is kinky, coily, and curly. You can usually find the same or similar forms in nature. I typically manipulate hair to resemble nature because in the same way you need to take care of and water a garden, it can be said for our hair too.
A recurring motif in my artwork is to present black people with their eyes covered by their hair, closing their eyes, walking away or looking away from the viewer. This emphasizes the hair while also giving the appearance that confidence is instilled in any person I create. Sometimes I do include eyes, but usually it’s a piercing gaze to get the same effect. The figures I create usually have a warm glow coming from the center of their faces. This also helps to aid the idea of confidence and beauty coming from within and shining outwards.
To the black community, I hope they feel the love and joy that I’ve poured into my work and that it further inspires them to embrace their crowns.