Nicola Hicks

Nicola Hicks MBE (born 1960, London) is one of Britain's most distinctive sculptors, celebrated for her visceral, emotionally charged depictions of animals and mythological figures. Daughter of two artists, she studied at the Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art, where her raw talent was recognised by Elisabeth Frink, who selected her for a solo exhibition at Angela Flowers Gallery in 1984.

Working primarily in plaster and straw, later cast in bronze, her sculptures capture the physicality and psychology of animals and beast-like humans with an archaic, spiritual energy that goes far beyond anatomical study. Alongside her sculpture, she produces large scale charcoal drawings that underpin her three-dimensional work. Her pieces are held in major collections worldwide, with notable public commissions including the Brown Dog Memorial in Battersea Park, and she was awarded an MBE in 1995 for her contribution to the visual arts.