About Nicole

Baltimore County

Nicole Lenzi’s work questions what a drawing is and its link to thinking and time passage.  She works between mediums to expand the concept of drawing including installations, photography, and works on paper. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationally and internationally.. She has a B.F.A from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.F.A from the Maryland Institute College of Art.  Her blog, Expanded, presents a range of contemporary drawing practices… more

Conglomerates (Pink Line). 2016.

Conglomerates (Pink Line). 2016. A pink thread invites a dialogue between disparate materials.
  • Conglomerate (Pink Line) No. 2.
    Conglomerate (Pink Line) No. 2.
  • Conglomerate (Pink Line) No. 2. Detail.
    Conglomerate (Pink Line) No. 2. Detail.
  • Conglomerate (Pink Line) No. 1.
    Conglomerate (Pink Line) No. 1.
  • Untitled.
    Untitled.

Time Lines 2016.

Time Lines (Installation) No. 2 was created in response to the light entering this window display. 
  • Time Lines (Installation) No.2
    Time Lines (Installation) No.2
    8.25 ft. x 6.5 ft. x 2.5 ft. Ink, thread, yarn, pins, and nails on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Installation) No.2
    Time Lines (Installation) No.2
    8.25 ft. x 6.5 ft. x 2.5 ft. Ink, thread, yarn, pins, and nails on paper 2016

Time Lines (Anchors) 2015-16.

This series explores my interest in the relationship between drawing. thinking, and time. Works were timed and automatic mark making was performed without distraction to see what happened.
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 9, 951 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 9, 951 Minutes
    20 x 29 x 2.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pencil on paper 2015
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 18, 643 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 18, 643 Minutes
    24 x 20 x 1.25 inches Ink, pencil, pins,and thread on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 12, 231 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 12, 231 Minutes
    9 x 9 x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pencil on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 13,  276 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 13, 276 Minutes
    9 x 9 x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pencil on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 15,  436 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 15, 436 Minutes
    9 x 9 x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pencil on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 15,  211 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 15, 211 Minutes
    9 x 9x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, and penil on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 11,  314  Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 11, 314 Minutes
    9 x 9 x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pencil on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 16, 154 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 16, 154 Minutes
    7 x 5.25 x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pecnil on paper 2016
  • Time Lines (Anchors) No. 18, 143 Minutes
    Time Lines (Anchors) No. 18, 143 Minutes
    8.25 x 6.5 x 1.25 inches Ink, thread, pins, and pencil on paper 2016

Conglomerates (Public) No. 1, 2019.

Conglomerates (Public) are constructed in response to urban architecture. Composed of the various materials found in and around a building, they are created along its edges and shadow lines. This integration forges a dialogue between the two different sized structures and male and female. Unlike the institutional buildings they stand by, Conglomerates (Public) are fragile, temporary spatial works standing in a delicate state of balance. Works are documented before falling over in the wind.

  • Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
    Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
  • Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
    Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
  • Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
    Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
  • Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
    Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
  • Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.
    Conglomerate (Public) No. 1, 2019.

Conglomerate (Time Lines) 2015.

Conglomerates (Time Lines): These works grew out my interest in drawing and time. Each work session was timed over a year in my studio and then in the gallery where they were installed. Lights were projected on these constructions and shadow lines were traced on walls and the floor. This further referenced time passage in the installation. The materials used related to the space; cement slabs, shelves, molding and glass. 
  • Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes.
    Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes.
  • Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes.
    Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes.
  • Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 2, 423 Minutes.
    Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 2, 423 Minutes.
  • Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 2, 423 Minutes.
    Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 2, 423 Minutes.
  • Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes.
    Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes.
  • Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes. 2015. Extended View.
    Conglomerate (Time Lines) No. 1, 3,423 Minutes. 2015. Extended View.

Conglomerates (Lichen) 2013-14.

Conglomerates (Lichen) 2013-2014: The growth process of the Lichen Plant (that relates to the Tao) influenced these 3D drawings. Lichens are two plants living together as a single unit; the fungus and the photobiot. Each needs the other to survive. Lichens are site specific, flowerless plants forming where land borders water. Likewise, Conglomerates (Lichens) are built at odd intersections in a room; like where the floor meets the wall. Their environment informs their material and structure, creating a symbiotic relationship. The more this develops, the more these works expand.
  • Conglomerate (Outside In) No. 1, 2014.
    Conglomerate (Outside In) No. 1, 2014.
  • Conglomerate (Outside In ) No. 1. Extended View. 2014.
    Conglomerate (Outside In ) No. 1. Extended View. 2014.
  • Conglomerate (Outisde In) No. 1, Extended View. 2014.
    Conglomerate (Outisde In) No. 1, Extended View. 2014.
  • Conglomerate (Lichen) No. 2
    Conglomerate (Lichen) No. 2
  • 1.jpg
    1.jpg
  • Conglomerate (Lichen) No. 1, 2014.
    Conglomerate (Lichen) No. 1, 2014.
  • Conglomerate (Lichen) No. 1 Detail
    Conglomerate (Lichen) No. 1 Detail
  • Conglomerate (Outside In) No. 1, Extended View. 2014.
    Conglomerate (Outside In) No. 1, Extended View. 2014.

Reshufflings (2020) and Shuffling(s) 2019.

Reshufflings and Shufflings are inspired by ideas read in Carlo Rovelli's The Order of  Time about the quantum world.  In this series, forms simultaneously divide and come together in an interplay between  light and dark.

Reshufflings and Shufflings works on paper are created in response to concepts explored in theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time. Rovelli writes about time at the quantum level  where the past, present, and future are blurred. Shuffling(s) are generated from multiple overlays of digital images of Conglomerates, small scale geometric constrcutions,  taken within split seconds. These are drawn on top of each other on a single piece of paper. Intersecting lines and shapes are then painted in various shades of gray. The resulting combinations of lines, shapes, and tones interact in states of entropic accord. Forms fragment in between time. Unforeseen harmonies and alignments emerge from the process


  • Reshufflings. (No. 3), 1:23 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 2: 40 p.m., 2 :49 p.m. and 2: 47 p.m.
    Reshufflings. (No. 3), 1:23 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 2: 40 p.m., 2 :49 p.m. and 2: 47 p.m.
  • Reshufflings. (No. 3), 1:11 p.m., 1:20 p.m., 1: 33 p.m., 1 :49 p.m. and 2: 47 p.m.
    Reshufflings. (No. 3), 1:11 p.m., 1:20 p.m., 1: 33 p.m., 1 :49 p.m. and 2: 47 p.m.
  • Reshufflings. (No. 3), 1:23 p.m., 1:24 p.m., 1: 36 p.m., 1 :45 p.m. and 1: 47 p.m.
    Reshufflings. (No. 3), 1:23 p.m., 1:24 p.m., 1: 36 p.m., 1 :45 p.m. and 1: 47 p.m.
  • Shuffling(s) No. 4; 1:40 p.m., 1:42 p.m. , 1:44 p.m.
    Shuffling(s) No. 4; 1:40 p.m., 1:42 p.m. , 1:44 p.m.
    Ink and pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2019.
  • Shuffling(s) No. 2; 2:04 p.m., 1:28 p.m. 1: 14 p.m., 2019.
    Shuffling(s) No. 2; 2:04 p.m., 1:28 p.m. 1: 14 p.m., 2019.
    Ink and pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2019.
  • Shuffling(s) No. 2; 1:24 p.m., 1:26 p.m. 1: 30 p.m., 2019.
    Shuffling(s) No. 2; 1:24 p.m., 1:26 p.m. 1: 30 p.m., 2019.
    Ink and pencil on paper, 20 x 28, 2019.
  • Shuffling(s) No. 4; 12:10 p.m., 12:12 p.m.
    Shuffling(s) No. 4; 12:10 p.m., 12:12 p.m.
    Ink and pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2019.
  • Shuffling(s) No. 2; 1:54 p.m., 1:56 p.m. 2: 05 p.m., 2019.
    Shuffling(s) No. 2; 1:54 p.m., 1:56 p.m. 2: 05 p.m., 2019.
    Ink and pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2019.

Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4. 2017.

The Progressions and Shuffling(s) series explores a dialogue between dimensions, media, and time to expand how to see and experience drawing.

Conglomerate (Progressions), are composed of cement slabs and plexiglass (and sit on cement). The term relates to musical chord progressions produced over time to stir harmonies. Made in relation to shifting sunlight and shadows, they were constructed outside over the course of several days and/or hours. Shadow lines are observed and recorded on and from materials to mark shadow movements and extend the drawing activity. Different stages are photographed to record unexpected alignments.

The works on paper, Progressions, are a series of reductive still lifes created from single digital images of Conglomerates. They pull out the darkest darks and lightest lights, revealing shadow pathways. Varying degrees of information are left in each work to decipher form. This removes them from their original context and open them to new avenues of exploration.

Shuffling(s) works on paper are created in response to concepts explored in theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time. Rovelli writes about time at the quantum level where the past, present, and future are blurred. Shuffling(s) are generated from multiple overlays of digital images of Conglomerates taken within split seconds. These are drawn on top of each other on a single piece of paper. Intersecting lines and shapes are then painted in various shades of gray. The resulting combinations of lines, shapes, and tones interact in states of entropic accord. Forms fragment in between time. Unforeseen harmonies and alignments emerge from the process.

  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 1, 75 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 1, 75 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 2, 78 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 2, 78 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 1, 75 Minutes (Detail)
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 1, 75 Minutes (Detail)
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 5, 87 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 5, 87 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 5, 121 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 5, 121 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 5, 114 Minutes (Detail)
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 5, 114 Minutes (Detail)
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 9, 145 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 9, 145 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 9, 165 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 9, 165 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 7, 135 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 7, 135 Minutes
  • Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 10, 177 Minutes
    Conglomerates (Progressions) Series 4, No. 10, 177 Minutes