Nicoletta de la Brown: I only want love that feels like rest

Nicoletta de la Brown.

​

Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown: I only want love that feels like rest 

KODA House, Building #407B, Colonels Row, Governors Island, New York

On view: October 6-27, 2024

RSVP Artist Activation: Sunday, October 6, 2024 from Noon-4pm

 

About the Exhibition & Performance  

An art installation at KODA House by Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown invites viewers into a domestic bedroom (a space for the artist to rest) where healing and softness intertwine. Drawing from her experiences of childhood abuse, Nicoletta uses her art practice as a powerful means of recovery—illuminating her personal journey toward mental health.

 

This soft exhibition includes a series of interconnected pieces that blend various mediums—self portrait photography, film/video, sculpture, mixed-media, and performance—to evoke the complexities of trauma and resilience. 

 

“I only want love that feels like rest.” is not only a celebration of Nicoletta’s personal growth but also a space for collective healing. It invites all who enter to reflect on their own stories, fostering a sense of connection and understanding in the pursuit of mental wellness. Through her art, Nicoletta shines a light on the path from feeling invisible to empowerment, reminding us of the strength found in vulnerability and the transformative power of art as ritual.

 

Nicoletta will activate the space through performance evocative of both play and ceremony. Each piece and movement reflects her personal journey, illustrating the complex interplay of pain and recovery. Through symbolism, she invites viewers to witness the cathartic process of reclaiming one’s narrative. 

 

Press Contact: Stewart Campbell, +1 (917) 557-3857, stewart@artistcommunications.com ​

​

Instagram                         Twitter    

@vida.magica.love        @KODAlab_
@koda.lab

 

Artist Bio

Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown (she/they)

Panamanian-American, b. 1981, Baltimore-born NYC raised 

 

Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and curandero chamána (shamanic practitioner). Her artworks re-conceive the life of an artist as thriving, nourishing others during and through her art practice, while healing herself in public space as a Black-Latin woman. She is a MacDowell Fellow, Artist-In-Residence at Baltimore School for the Arts, 2022-24 Tabb Center Public Humanities Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, 2024 KODA Mental Health Resident Artist, 2025 Vermont Studio Center Marshall Frankel Fellowship Artist in Residence. Former sculpture professor at Towson University and former adjunct faculty in the MFA in Community Arts Graduate Program at Maryland Institute College of Art. Nicoletta’s performances have been presented at The National Aquarium, Baltimore MD; The Phillips Collection, Washington DC; The Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC; The Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building, Washington DC; Walters Art Museum, Baltimore MD; Eubie Blake, Baltimore, MD. Exhibitions of Nicoletta’s video artworks and installations have been presented at Bennington College Usdan Gallery, Bennington, Vermont; The National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD; The Tribeca Film Festival, New York, NY; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore MD; IA&A at Hillyer Gallery, Washington DC; Cardinal Gallery, Baltimore MD; Pinkard Gallery, Baltimore MD; The Segal Gallery, Baltimore MD; Leidy Atrium, Baltimore MD; MICA PLACE, Baltimore MD. Her work is included in private and public collections, such as The Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University, GLB Memorial Foundation Collection, The National Aquarium.