09/10/2026
Welcome Sama / سما !
Nicholas Rispoli is an multidisciplinary artist and founder of Sama / سما with an MFA in Sculpture. Working across mixed media painting, drawing, printmaking and writing, his practice probes the tension between our embodiment, what lies beyond it, and the myths we inherit and remake. He creates figurative worlds that reside in the space between a Godless philosophy and a hopeful, spiritual mythology.
His work has been published in OUT Magazine and Evergreen Review. Solo exhibitions include Transmutation (2015) and Conversations with Strangers (2019) at Paul Calendrillo, New York; group shows include David & Schweitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn; UNDERSTORY Gallery, Cleveland; and the Squirts Festival at La MaMa Theatre, New York, as part of Mariam Bazeed’s play peace camp org. He has held residencies at HANGAR, Lisbon; Visual Muze, New York; and La Escuela de Diseño de Altos de Chavón, Dominican Republic. Nicholas has served on the faculties of Pace University, The Harlem School of the Arts, and the Bedford Hills Prison College Program, and has led classes at the Museum of Arts and Design and The New York Academy of Art. He was the Assistant Artistic Director of the New York State Summer School of the Arts from 2016 to 2024.
His project space Sama / سما is dedicated to sustained collaborations with artists across generations of practice, rooted in the communities and histories that shape Cleveland, with a commitment to SWANA artists. Nicholas is currently developing new work in the studio alongside Sama / سما programming.
Visit for their first exhibition titled Strange, Inherently on Thursday, September 17th, from 5-7pm.
