MILWAUKEE — As Wisconsinites celebrate Pride Month, it's also a time to recognize, appreciate and embrace our differences. We celebrate Pride to recognize the impact LGBTQ+ people made in the world. 

What You Need To Know

  • Nykoli Koslow is the 12th artist-in-residence at the historic Pfister Hotel

  • Nykoli fuses figuration with abstraction to explore notions of gender, sexuality, and agency

  • His current series turns the visceral feelings of gender dysphoria into a queer cosmology

  • Nykoli's gift provides him with a platform to educate others on what life is like being transgender in a society that doesn't understand or accept you

Nykoli Koslow is the 12th artist-in-residence at the historic Pfister Hotel, yet he's the first to shine a light on his unique art form.

At 31, art allows Koslow to be free. With each layer, Koslow transforms the canvas into a painting that reveals his true self.

Koslow refers to his style of work as Trans Abstraction, painting his story through the stories of transgender gods and deities found throughout history. Working in the realm of painting and drawing, Nykoli fuses figuration with abstraction to explore notions of gender, sexuality and agency.

"I'm abstracting [my art] to talk about the feelings of gender dysphoria and existing in a trans body," Koslow said.

His current series turns the visceral feelings of gender dysphoria into a queer cosmology, pulling from ancient history, mythology, religion, mysticism and a kind of theoretical physics infused with sci-fi.

Nykoli's work explores the challenges one faces when feeling trapped inside the wrong body. His vibrant, bold, and honest approach to his work speaks for itself.

Nykoli's gift provides him with a platform to educate others on what life is like being trans in a society that doesn't understand or accept you.

More information about Nykoli's work can be found at nykolikoslow.com.