| Artist | Nicolas Bruno | Resides | United States |
| Website | nicolasbrunophotography.com | Mediums | Photography Sculpture Costume Design Drawing |
| Print Shop | somniatarot.com | [email protected] | |
| Artist Prompt Program | nicolasbrunojewelry.com/artistprompts | Themes | Sleep Paralysis Dream Symbolism Tarot Archetypes Mental Health Awareness |
| Follow the Artist | Press | nicolasbrunophotography.com/press |
About the artist
Nicolas Bruno studied at Purchase College of New York, where he received his BFA in Photography in 2015. His studio practice is based in Northport, New York, where he photographs and fabricates props for his compositions. Nicolas exhibits his artworks internationally and engages in public speaking events to spread awareness of Sleep Paralysis. He also engages with local and international school districts to inspire young students to use art as a therapy. Nicolas has been featured in various video documentaries that offer a behind the scenes look at his creative process. Nicolas is an advocate for environmental conservation, art education, and mental health awareness.
Artwork Themes & Subject Matter
Nicolas Bruno weaves together his terrifying experiences of Sleep Paralysis with surreal self-portraiture in a therapeutic translation of night terror to image. His constructed worlds of uncertainty exist on a plane between waking and sleeping, where he is tormented by a physical embrace of the subconscious and its perils, all while being paralyzed in bed. Influences of 19th century Romanticists, historical texts, occultism and dream symbolism lace each composition with various visual dialogues of the macabre.
Nicolas’s latest series, The Somnia Tarot, contains 78 images and tells the tale of the classic Tarot through the mediums of photography, sculpture, costume design, and dream journal recordings. Various characters and symbolism from Sleep Paralysis are woven together to express the diverse themes that appear within the Tarot. The conception of The Somnia Tarot began during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the project was completed in late November of 2020. After a successful independent crowdfunding campaign, The Somnia Tarot Deck is now used worldwide by tarot readers who wish to dive into their shadow, dreams, and nightmares.
Press
Nicolas Bruno’s works has been published in notable magazines and online sources including The College of Psychic Studies, My Modern Met, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, BBC, Adobe, Nikon, Phlearn, Photo World Mag, Resource, Widewalls, BoredPanda, Unilad, The Culture trip, Lost at E Minor, CNN Style, COOPH, Huffington Post, VICE, IGNANT
CV
Education
2015, BFA Photography, Purchase College, New York, NY. United States
Solo Exhibitions
2021 The Somnia Tarot, Haven Gallery, Northport, NY. United States
2019 In Limbo, Haven Gallery, Northport, NY. United States
2017 Between Realms, Haven Gallery, Northport, NY. United States
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 Esprit de Corps Bicoastal Exhibition, Modern Eden x Haven Gallery, Long Island, NY. United States
2018
Little Big III, Haven Gallery, Northport, NY. United States
Parasomnia, Riaperture, Ferrara, Italy
2017 Into the Woods II, Haven Gallery, Northport, NY. United States
