Nicole Leth is a multidisciplinary artist and writer devoted to creating work that invites connection, softness, and care. Her practice spans fine art, public installations, poetic writing, and one-of-a-kind garments. Her paintings live in art museums, her public works are installed in cities across the country, and her pieces often appear in unexpected places: billboards above highways, quilts left in public parks, or anonymous love letters sent through the mail. Her work has been experienced by over 150 million people worldwide. She has anonymously shared her words and imagery on more than 600 billboards and air banners—including in Times Square—bringing unexpected tenderness into public space.
Nicole began her creative career in fashion, designing clothing collections and building storefronts for nearly a decade. That foundation continues to shape her studio practice, where care, craft, and physical presence are central. Her art invites not just reflection, but feeling—honoring intimacy, memory, and the full range of being alive.
Her paintings and textile-based works often blend poetic text with childlike imagery, reclaiming the joy and safety of a childhood she never fully had. With themes of grief, healing, and resilience, she creates space for others to feel seen, softened, and held.
Nicole is known for creating public artworks for cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami, and Buena Vista, Arkansas. In 2020, she received the OBIE Lifetime Achievement Award for her global public art project.
Since 2019, she has run a free postcard project rooted in anonymity and care. Each month, she mailed handwritten postcards—featuring her original artwork and deeply autobiographical writing—to people around the world. Nearly 200,000 postcards have been sent. Though the project has evolved, its impact continues to ripple.
Her work—including The Affirmation Quilts Project, co-created with her husband Luke Haynes—explores the intersection of public art, healing, and human connection. Nicole’s broader body of work has been featured in The Washington Post, NPR, The LA Times, The Today Show, and more.
Whether through installations, fashion, or fine art, her projects remind people that joy and healing can exist in even the most unexpected places. At its core, her work is a conversation—a quiet reaching-out that says: You are here, and that matters.
