fftc:FWD Artist Spotlight
Justin Hicks
“Mental Health” Folio Cover Art
About The Artist
Artist / Company
Justin Levon Hicks
BIOGRAPHY
Justin Levon Hicks is a North Carolina-based visual artist, writer, and filmmaker working at the intersection of material process and narrative structure.
Informed by the associative, fluid nature of dreams, Hicks investigates how personal and collective histories shape the human condition. Working across collage, drawing, and painting, his methodology emphasizes lyrical abstraction alongside rigorous physical deconstruction.
By systematically painting, layering and fragmenting his materials, Hicks exposes hidden strata beneath the surface—giving physical form to themes of loss, transition, and somatic memory. In his work, the creative act serves as both an excavation and a metaphor for resilience, using mark making, color, and texture to document what has been stripped away and what stubbornly remains.
Following his time at UNC Charlotte’s BFA program in 2020, Hicks has gone on to exhibit work at the Mint Museum Uptown, the former SOZO Gallery, and in four residency exhibitions throughout Colombia, South America between 2023 and 2025.
Cover Art for “Mental Health” → Visit The Folio
"Hymnal I”
Artist Statement
Inspired by the visual imagery of a ship traversing through a glacial pass or uncharted seas, Hymnal I represents the non-linear process of navigating mental health challenges. A journey that oftentimes can feel disjointed or like being on an island. The composition’s stripped and layered use of color reflects my own experiences with anxiety and depression both personal and familial. Emerging through the composition, the blue acrylic inkblot serves as a symbol of faith amid uncertainty, forging a path through the unknown. It stands as a quiet reminder that while our paths may feel solitary, healing is strengthened through connection, and our collective battles do not have to be faced in isolation.