Space Coast Artists Nikki Nicole & Christopher Maslow: Affair of the HeART
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is first in a series featuring artists, performers and artisans on the Space Coast. Look for ongoing coverage in our monthly collections, published on the first of each month. Click HERE to subscribe to our monthly collection launch newsletter to ensure our latest local stories land in your inbox.
Brevard County artists Nikki Nicole and Christopher Maslow are well known here on the Space Coast and beyond for their wonderful art, but they share something else beautiful, too: their relationship.
The couple met in October 2014 at one of Christopher’s shows. The exhibit, “Beautiful Death” explored flowers as symbols of mortality, yet that was when their love came alive.
“From the moment I saw her, I was enamored,” Chris said.
Nikki added, “I was drawn to him right away, and I’m still in love with him here nine years later.”
The two had a long courtship and married in 2022, with Nikki wearing a wedding dress designed by Chris.
Chris started his career painting surfboards at the age of 15. He graduated from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and was a clothing designer in Southern California for several years but found himself gravitating toward street art. Now he is known throughout the country for his canvas-based art and murals.
Nikki said Chris’ passion for the craft is what she admires most.
“(He has a) beautiful lifelong pursuit to create and has a style that is uniquely his own. He was a big inspiration in my own creative journey,” she said.
Nikki Nicole grew up in a creative household and first discovered her artistic passion styling and coloring hair. She started painting in 2017 after their son was born and is well known in the area for her paintings and murals.
“I’ve always admired her ability to express herself through different creative outlets,” Chris said. “She’s very dedicated and ambitious. When she wants something, she goes after it. Her abstract paintings are breathtaking in composition and feel so feminine to me. I love that she is such a girly girl.”
While the Melbourne-based artists have their own individual works, they also collaborate on murals, paintings, and installations. Later this year, they plan to start a series exploring the duality of man and woman and the balance of opposites.
“Sharing the same creative passions makes it easier for us to bond and function efficiently. We both empathize with each other’s desire to create so we work together to fulfill that need, as well as taking care of what has to get done,” Nikki said.
Of course, Nikki said that their greatest collaboration was their son, Indigo, born in May 2017.
However, they said, it’s not all romance and beautiful death flowers.
“Art making is such an immersive process, it’s hard to balance that creative zone with all of life’s responsibilities,” Nikki said. “We are both constantly evolving. It takes a great amount of mutual respect, patience, and love for one another to weather the journey. At the end of the day, though, we both hold on to this common ground. No matter how rough the storms get, nobody gets off the ship. We are in this together come rain or shine. Together forever, ride or die.”
Learn More
Nikki Nicole’s art
nikkinicolestudio.com
Instagram: @nikkinicolestudio
Christopher Maslow’s art
christophermaslow.com
Instagram: @christophermaslow
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