Nicole Martinelli

The artist

Practice and perspective

Nicole Martinelli is an American artist and fine art photographer whose practice brings together nature photography and hand-painted E-paintings. Building on her foundation in oil painting and her technical knowledge of digital photography, she creates her E-paintings stroke by stroke, entirely by hand, using a stylus on a touchscreen. The screen becomes her canvas and the stylus her brush: a direct painting process through which imagined floral and landscape compositions take shape.

Originally from the western suburbs of Chicago and now based in the Pittsburgh area, Martinelli describes a practice transformed by adversity and health challenges. Florals, trees, water and landscapes become metaphors for resilience, healing and renewal. Across photography and painting, her central concern is the relationship between our inner lives and the natural world: the flower that blooms after a storm, the tree reaching toward the light, and the possibility of beginning again.

Her artist-supplied biography records exhibitions in more than 50 galleries across the United States and Europe, including Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Austria. Her international exhibition history includes Toolip Art Gallery in Vienna, Primo Piano Living Gallery in Lecce and Rossocinabro Gallery in Rome, together with presentations in Florence and Barcelona. A five-month exhibition with Influence Gallery at Hôtel de Rougemont in Switzerland forms another highlight of this international practice.

In 2026, Martinelli participated in Women’s Generation: Contemporary Female Cosmogonies, presented by Primo Piano LivinGallery at Fondazione Palmieri in Lecce. Curated by Dores Sacquegna, the exhibition also included works from the gallery’s collection by Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono and Louise Bourgeois. Her exhibition selections have included jurors Nancy Lim of SFMOMA and Armando Jaramillo Garcia; an earlier solo presentation at Madame ZuZu’s was selected by Billy Corgan and Chloe Mendel.

Her 2026 programme spans a solo exhibition at Artifact Gallery in Manhattan, Autumn Enchantment at bG Gallery in Santa Monica, Firenze Contemporary 8 in Florence, and exhibitions with Toolip Art Gallery in Vienna. She has also received profile coverage in MSN, NYC Journal, Disruptors Magazine and The Woman’s Herald, including their 2026 features on inspirational and trailblazing women.

Alongside Studio 54 Fine Art, Martinelli is represented by Toolip Art Gallery in Vienna. Studio 54 Fine Art assists collectors with her available photography and E-paintings, artwork information, edition details, framing and international delivery.

2026

Exhibited in Bloom at Toolip Art Gallery, Vienna, 24 April–15 May.

2026

Natural Flow, second edition, MUST Museum, Lecce, 3–18 July, listed on her official site.

Representation

Artist profile and works available through Toolip Art Gallery, Vienna.