Nadezda Nikolova

Nadezda Nikolova, born in 1978, is a Croatian-Bulgarian American photographic artist based in Oakland, California. She studied 19th century phototrophic printing processes at the University of Kentucky and the George Eastman Museum. Before becoming a full-time artist, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a Master’s degree in Policy Analysis. Nadezda Nikolova produces photograms on wet collodion plates (tintypes) imagined in drawing. The artist’s imaginary landscapes are produced in the darkroom in a very short time before the sensitive surface dries, using masks and other materials. Borrowed from reverie and exploration, the plates are assembled to create large compositions that highlight both the beauty of this photographic technique invented in 1851 and the proximity between photography and the pictorial gesture. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

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