Artist Statement: I called my piano Fish and Ship or "We Need More Clearwater" for a few reasons. See, for a while now, I've been saying I take the Pete Seeger approach to my painting. He built the ship, Clearwater, to clean up the Hudson River. He figured people would come to see the ship, see how dirty the river was, and want to clean it up. I took inspiration from him, painting ocean life so we can talk about water.
Nick Stavrides was born in Washington Heights in the late 60's and resides in Hell's Kitchen in New York City today. As a child, he would spend hours in the waters of Montauk, snorkeling and drifting among the fish. It was a place where he felt safe and is the inspiration for his fish series that's consumed him for the last many years. A self-trained painter, Stavrides embraces the art of different tribes and cultures which gives his work a primitive quality. He also draws inspiration by observing New Yorkers in their daily rhythms on the streets and makes comparisons between them and the schools of fish.
