Nikki Maloof brings a whole new take to still life. Fish, food and crockery all have an intentional lack of perspective. By contrast, intensely patterned wallpapers and tablecloths create depth. Together these elements amass into quietly strange domestic scenes. “Equal parts joy and anxiety,” as the artist puts it. Her process is measured but emotion-driven, building images from her imagination. Occasionally she refers to photographs or IRL objects, but "something is lost" if the scenes are “too real,” she says. Initial ideas are developed via sketching and collage, then translated with oil onto canvas. The artist’s influences are vast. They range from modernist Edvard Munch to postwar American painter Lois Dodd, along with contemporary painters like Nicole Eisenman and Jennifer Packer.