Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nikki Van Pelt attended Crossroads High School and Otis College of Art and Design. Her multidisciplinary practice includes drawing, painting and sculpture. Van Pelt uses her own snapshots, fashion ads, paparazzi photos and history books as inspiration for her hand-painted acrylic, oil and resin works on canvas. Through paintings of models, cultural icons and her friends, Van Pelt explores issues of both public and private identity. Fascinated by the images that inform us and illustrate our history, Van Pelt presents a beautified world of idealizations.