# Arcmanoro Niles

URL: https://vielmetter.com/artists/arcmanoro-niles/
Has exhibited with Vielmetter Los Angeles

Arcmanoro Niles (b.1989, Washington D.C.) received his BFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA in 2013 and an MFA from New York Academy of Art, New York, NY in 2015.

Solo exhibitions of his work have recently been organized at Lehmann Maupin, New York, NY (2023, 2024, 2025); Lehmann Maupin, London, United Kingdom (2022); UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA (2020); Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY (2019); Long Gallery, New York, NY (2017); and Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY (2016). His work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including *Black Melancholia*, Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (2022); *A Place for Me: Figurative Painting Now*, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA (2022); *Fire Figure Fantasy: Selections from ICA Miami’s Collection*, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; *From The Limitations Of Now*, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK (2021); *Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art*, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY (2020).

His work is in numerous public and private collections, including the Aishti Foundation, Jal El Dib, Lebanon; Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Pond Society, Shanghai, China; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China; and Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom.

## Exhibitions

- [Spotlight: Arcmanoro Niles – Times Ain’t What I’d Thought They’d Be: The Stars Don’t Shine Like Before](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/arcmanoro-niles-2025.md): November 15, 2025 — January 10, 2026 · Viewing Room · Artists: Arcmanoro Niles

## Biography

1989 Born in Washington, D.C. 2025 Lives and works in New York, NY   2018 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME 2015 MFA, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY 2013 BFA, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA 2010 School of Art and Design at Montgomery Community College, Silver Spring, MD

**Selected Solo Exhibitions**

  2025 "Spotlight: Arcmanoro Niles - Times Ain't What I'd Thought They'd Be: The Stars Don't Shine Like Before," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA  "When There’s Nothing I Can Do: I Go to My Heart," Lehmann Maupin, New York, NY 2024 "The City Lights Can’t Shine Quite Like the Stars: Got So Far From My Raising I Forgot Where I Come From," Lehmann Maupin, New York, NY 2023 "A Moment Alone in the Shade," Lehmann Maupin, New York, NY 2022 "You Know I Used To Love You but Now I Don’t Think I Can: There Ain’t No Right Way To Say Goodbye Again," Lehmann Maupin, London, United Kingdom 2021 "Hey Tomorrow, Do You Have Some Room For Me: Failure Is A Part Of Being Alive," Lehmann Maupin, New York, NY 2020 "I Guess By Now I'm Supposed To Be A Man: I'm Just Trying To Leave Behind Yesterday," UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA 2019 "My Heart is Like Paper: Let the Old Ways Die," Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY 2018 "Revisiting the Area," Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY 2017 "The Arena," Long Gallery, New York, NY 2016 "AIR Works," Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY  "Life Was A Party To be Thrown," Beez & Honey, New York, NY

**Selected Group Exhibitions**

  2026 "Space is the Place: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA 2025 "The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today," Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington D.C  "New York Academy of Art Chubb Fellows and Friends," Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX  "In Plain Sight," Hexton Gallery, Aspen, CO  "Visions of the World," Museum Kampa, Prague, Czech Republic  "Justice and the Inalienable Rights," Tyler Art Gallery at SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 2024 "A New Subjectivity 1979/2024, Parrish Museum, Water Mill, NY  "Day for Night: New American Realism," National Galleries of Ancient Art, Rome, Italy  "Some Dogs Go to Dallas," Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX 2023 "Friends & Lovers," Flag Art Foundation, New York, NY  "Talk of the Town," Dallas Museum of Art at NorthPark Center, Dallas, TX  "Labor of Love," Rachel Uffner, New York, NY 2022 "Dark Light: Realism in the Age of Post-Truths," Aïshti Foundation, Jal el Dib, Lebanon  "Black Melancholia," Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY  "Fire Figure Fantasy: Selections from ICA Miami’s Collection," Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL  "A Place for Me: Figurative Painting Now," Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA  "Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art," Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, PA; Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, CA 2021 "From The Limitations Of Now," Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK  "Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art," Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 2020 "Artists for New York," Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY  "Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art," Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY 2019 "Afrocosmologies: American Reflections," Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT  "Punch," Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, CA  "On Refusal: Representation & Resistance in Contemporary American Art," The MAC Belfast, Northern Ireland 2018 "Ten Years," Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY  "Problem Solving: Highlights from the Experimental Printmaking Institute," Mechanical Hall Gallery, University of Delaware, Newark, DE  "Portraits of Who We Are," David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD 2014 "Mutual Interest No. 3," Shanghai University, Shanghai, China 2012 "Promising Artists of the 21st Century," Sophia Wanamaker Gallery, San Jose, Costa Rica

**Awards, Grants and Fellowships**

  2021 Artist Award, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 2019 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant 2018 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant 2017 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant  Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant 2016 Scott & Patricia PGTA Award, New York Academy of Art  Artist in Residence, Guild Hall for the Arts, East Hampton, NY 2014 Artist in Residence, Shanghai University, China 2013 The Lance Roy Lauffer Memorial Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts  Benjamin West Clinedinst Memorial Medal, Artists’ Fellowship, Inc. 2012 The Fred and Naomi Hazel Memorial Art Award for Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  The Cecilia Beaux Memorial Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Pennsylvania, PA 2010 The American Artists Professional League’s American Artists Fund Award

**Bibliography**

  2023 Olsen, Annikka. “Artists to Watch This Month: 10 Solo Gallery Exhibitions to Seek Out in September in New York,” Artnet, September 6 2022 Maki, Tennae. “ArtSeen: Arcmanoro Niles: You Know I used to Love You but Now I Don’t Think I Can: There Ain’t No Right Way to Say Goodbye Again," Brooklyn Rail, December/January  Hollis, Phyllis. “Episode 128: A Conversation with Arcmanoro Niles,” Art Talks: A Podcast by Cerebral Women, November 16 (podcast).  Woodward, Daisy. “Brilliant Things to Do This November,” AnOther Magazine, November 2  Cotter, Holland. “For Black Artists, the Motivating Power of Melancholia,” The New York Times, June 23 2021 Lakin, Max. “3 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now,” The New York Times, August 12  Semic, Sara, and Baya Simons. “Six international art exhibitions to bookmark for late summer,” Financial Times, August 11  Ologundudu, Folasade. “In Gem-like Hues, Arcmanoro Niles Renders the Mundane Electric,” Hyperallergic, July 26  “Glitter and Ghosts in the Paintings of Arcmanoro Niles,” Elephant, May 28  “5 Artists on the Influence of Mark Rothko.” Artsy, April 13 2020 Sutton, Benjamin. “Twenty artists received Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grants, including Tschabalala Self and Paul Mpagi Sepuya,” Artsy, May 12  Cascone, Sarah. “Stir Crazy Already? Feast Your Eyes on 20 Works of Art That Celebrate the Joys of Being at Home,” Artnet News, March 13  Davis-Marks, Isis. “These 10 Emerging Black Artists Are the Future of Figurative Painting,” Artsy, February 11  Cascone, Sarah. “In LA for Frieze Week? Here is Our Guide to 33 Inspiring Gallery Shows to See Beyond the Fairs" Artnet News, February 10 2019 Kissick, Dean. "Arcmanoro Niles Paints Our Internal Lives,” Cultured, November  Redmond, Taylor. "Jeffery Deitch and Nina Chanel Abney on the Zeitgeist of the Digital Age," Cultured, July 1  Roffino, Sara. "Arcmanoro Niles is a Painter for the Ages," Cultured, June 29  Bell, Joshua, and Connie H. Choi. “Collecting a Legacy: New Acquisitions,” Studio, Spring/Summer  Wagner, Virginia. "Paper Heart: Arcmanoro Niles discusses his work with Virginia Wagner," Art Critical, May 29  Smith, Roberta. “Spring Gallery Guide: Over 40 Art Shows to See Right Now,” The New York Times, April 26  Freeman, Nate. “What Sold at the Dallas Art Fair,” Artsy, April 15  Armstrong, Arnie. “Dallas Art Museum Adds Eight Works to Collection with Dallas Art Fair Acquisition Fund,” ARTnews, April 11  Cowan, Katy. "Paintings which carefully observe how we deal with heartbreak and disappointment," Creative Boom, April 5  “Featured Exhibition: Arcmanoro Niles,” Contemporary And (C&), March 15  McClodden, Tiona Nekkia. "10 Artists on their 2018 Discovery," Cultured, January 17 2018 Margulies, Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Margulies Selects Her Top Five Emerging Artists of 2018,” Galerie Magazine, December 17  “6 World-Class Booths to See at the Dallas Art Fair,” Artnet News, April 12  Miller, James H. “Dallas Art Fair marries the regional and global," The Art Newspaper, April 9  Carter, Steve. “Arcmanoro Niles, Rachel Uffner Gallery,” PATRON Magazine, April/May  Gornik, April. “The April Gornik Conversations: Artist Arcmanoro Niles,” Stay Thirsty Magazine, February 20  Scott, Andrea. “Arcmanoro Niles,” The New Yorker, January 29  “9 Artists to Watch in January 2018," Artspace Magazine, January 12  Cascone, Sarah. “From Gordon Parks to LaToya Ruby Frazier, Here Are 35 Must-See Gallery Shows in New York City This January,” Artnet News, January 5 2017 Corbett, Rachel, and Andrew Goldstein. “From a Surprise ‘Salvator Mundi’ to Tears for Trump: 8 Star-Making Turns at NADA Miami,” Artnet News, December 9  Zahn, Paul. “Miami Tastemakers Share Their Top Spots To Visit During Art Basel," Ocean Drive, December 4  Black, Stephanie. “Seek And You Shall Find: Arcmanoro Niles.” Quiet Lunch Nº 5, November 24  Menendez, Didi. “50 Badass Figurative Painters To Follow On Instagram,” Buzzfeed, November 17  Scher, Robin. “Joan Mitchell Foundation Announces 2017 Painters & Sculptors Grant Recipients,” ARTnews, November 14  Dafoe, Taylor. “Joan Mitchell Foundation Announces 2017 Grant Recipients, Making 25 Artists $25,000 Richer,” Artnet News, November 14  “Arcmanoro Niles at Long Gallery, Harlem, New York,” ARTnews, May 12  Sargent, Antwaun. “Orange Paint and Glitter Bring a Black Community to Life,” Creators (Vice), May 8  Ghosh, Sarbani, and Sarah Cascone. “Beyond the Fairs: Your Go-to Guide to Openings and Events During Frieze Week 2017,” Artnet News, April 30 2016 O’Reilly, Brendan J. “Guild Hall’s First Artists-In-Residence Speak At AIR Works," The South Hampton Press, April 14  Segal, Mark. “Guild Hall Welcomes First Residents,” The East Hampton Star, March 3  “Arcmanoro Niles—The Party,” The BHoldr, January 29 2013 Booker, Bobbi. “Budding Painter Talks Technique,” The Philadelphia Tribune, June 30

**Publications**

  2026 Apsara DiQuinzio, Makeda Best, William L. Fox, Maia Nuku, Maya Lin. "Into the Time Horizon," Radius Books Co-published with the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV. 2025 Gnyp, Marta. "Visions of the World: The Wigam Collection," Prague: Museum Kampa. 2023 Lewis, Arthur. "I Guess By Now I’m Supposed To Be A Man: I’m Just Trying To Leave Behind Yesterday," Beverly Hills: UTA Artist Space.  Gartenfeld, Alex. "Fire Figure Fantasy. Selections from ICA Miami's Collection," New York: DelMonico Books. 2022 Gynp, Marta, and Arcmanoro Niles. "You Know I Used To Love You But Now I Don’t Think I Can: There Ain’t Right Way To Say Goodbye Again," London: Lehmann Maupin. 2021 Biswas, Allie, and Anna Stothart. "Arcmanoro Niles: Hey Tomorrow, Do You Have Some Room For Me: Failure Is A Part Of Being Alive," New York: Lehmann Maupin. 2020 Sargent, Antwaun, ed. "Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art," New York: D.A.P. 2019 "I Guess By Now I'm Supposed To Be A Man: I'm Just Trying To Leave Behind Yesterday," Los Angeles: UTA Artist Space.  Boothe, Berrisford, Claudia Highbaugh, Kristin Hass, et al. "Afrocosmologies: American Reflections," Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. 2018 Cooper Cafritz, Peggy. "Fired Up! Ready to Go!: Finding Beauty, Demanding Equity: An African American Life in Art," The Collections of Peggy Cooper Cafritz. New York: Rizzoli.  McGee, Julie L. "Portraits of Who We Are," College Park: David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland. 2017 "The Arena: Arcmanoro Niles,." New York: Long Gallery Harlem.

**Public Collections**

   Aishti Foundation, Jal El Dib, Lebanon  The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY  Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX  David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD  Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX  Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA  Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on Hudson, NY  The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA  The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL  Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA  Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ  Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, FL  Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ  Pond Society, Shanghai, China  The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY  Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China  Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom