Vicki Khuzami

Vicki Khuzami, born in Brooklyn, is a painter, illustrator, and muralist. She earned a BFA (magna cum laude) from SUNY New Paltz and has also studied at Parsons School of Design and the School of Visual Arts. After school Khuzami was able to spend an extensive period traveling overseas, including India, Nepal and Japan. There she trekked the Himalayan Mountains, produced a series of paintings featured in a solo show at Gallery Beni in Kyoto, studied Sumie painting in Japan and acquired a lifelong affinity for Japanese kitsch. 

Vicki Khuzami's most recent series, Telenovelas Suburbia depicts paintings of scenes within imaginary suburban homes by the use of vintage dollhouses. A lifelong collector of pop culture commodities, Khuzami’s work is inspired by vintage kitsch, which includes anime dolls, action figures, dollhouses, and bodybuilding magazines. She arranges pulp fiction inspired scenes within vintage dollhouses. Inspired by film noir, and the works of David Lynch, Wes Anderson, and Todd Solondz, she stages, lights, and photographs her cast of characters within vintage dollhouse sets. Next she distorts the colors by computer and manipulates them one final time on canvas. Khuzami states, “What excites me is exploring socio-psychological taboos, societal foibles and machinations from a voyeuristic perspective by use of the dollhouses.” 

Khuzami’s work as a muralist is extensive and spans worldwide. She created murals for the Capitol Building, the New York Botanical Garden, Bloomingdale’s, Disneyland Tokyo, and the National Park Service, among many others. She has also illustrated book covers for Dell Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic Magazine, and New York Press. She began her career restoring 19th century paintings and later worked at Evergreene Painting Studios. Khuzami opened her own studio in 1995. She has also taught mural painting at the New School in New York City.

Website: khuzamistudio.com

Exhibitions

July 1 - 28, 2021
The Small Works Show

October 17 - November 13, 2019
On the Wall

September 7 - 28, 2017
Women of Absurdia

August 4 - 25, 2016
Painting Group Show

July 28, 2016
8 x 8 x 100