Let’s Kill Nicole - About the exhibit 

‘Let’s Kill Nicole’ opened in June of 2019 at Massimo De Carlo Gallery in London. 

I knew this exhibit was going to be amazing simply by the name. Speaking of - ‘Let’s Kill Nicole’ refers to “a friend, most likely in grade school, who makes a violently irrational suggestion, such as killing a bully or a friend.” (source). 

Overall this colorful exhibit is about ‘banal drama,’ or drama lacking in originality or freshness. 

Examples of this can be seen in the work ‘Little Amy’ - which features the late Amy Winehouse.  

“Little Amy, a mirage vision of Amy Winehouse as a child is airbrushed in a desert, an ocean, being saluted by dolphins and lizards. The lowly beach style of boardwalk t-shirts and trinkets is used to memorialize Amy. She is a blip of a cheap angel in British culture” (source) 

“Weezer was on constantly in the studio while we were working on these paintings: we listened to all their albums. Also Green Day and the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtracks from the early 2000s. I think that’s why the show has this weird teenager vibe: starting fires in car parks; doing bad shit for no reason.” - Jamian Juliano-Villani for Frieze (source) 

“I feel like my work often translates a memory of an experience that everyone has had. Those are the moments I’m looking for.” - Jamian Juliano-Villani for Frieze (source) 

About the artist 

Jamian Juliano-Villani is an American based artist, living and working in New York. This was her second show at Massimo De Carlo. 

“Her inimitable paintings have made her one of the art world’s most magnetic talents. There’s no telling what she’ll do next.” - Surface Mag (source) 

She received her BFA from Rutgers University in 2013. 

She’s represented by the following galleries: 

Massimo De Carlo - London

JTT - New York 

Here’s a great article by ArtNews of Jamian Juliano-Villani and Peter Saul being interviewed - here.