Nina Sun is currently in pursuit of her Bachelor of Arts in Visual Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her expected graduation date is May 2026.

Artist’s Statement

I am inspired by the poetics of mundanity and the translation of chaos into serenity through the act of painting. Even the most unsuspecting sights—sometimes straightforward, other times reimagined or abstracted—adopt renewed meaning in translucent layers of paint. The use of stained wood surfaces nods to the allure of the ordinary, highlighting interiority as not only psychological state but domestic homes as intimate subjects. My work relishes the intimacy of everyday moments: felt but not understood, universal yet interior.

Like being told a secret in a loud room.
A voyeuristic gaze through condensation collecting on the inside of a window.
Reading a love letter in a language you are only beginning to learn.
Embracing in thick winter coats.
A found photograph, slightly out of focus.

Moments where meaning lurks just beneath the surface.

Within these mundane intricacies, the veil between our immediate conditions and another, untouchable yet omniscient realm begins to thin—rewarding those who take the time to look, to reflect, and to suspend belief. What is revealed remains wholly contained within the everyday, yet jolts us out of its lulling rhythm.

Selected Exhibitions

Fall Undergraduate Exhibition, SAIC Galleries, Chicago, IL. 2025

Inaugural Show, Third City Gallery, Chicago, IL. 2025

AND NOW, Agitator Gallery, Chicago, IL. 2024

Neither Here Nor There, Side Street Studio Arts, Elgin, IL. 2024

SAIC Artbash, SAIC Galleries, Chicago, IL. 2024