Jaylon Israel Hicks (b. 1993, Houston, Texas) is an American conceptual artist based in Houston, Texas, whose practice traverses drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography. Concerned with the complex relationships between humans, materials, and the environment, Hicks addresses themes of globalisation, waste and connectivity with a distinctive focus on the Anthropocene's self-destructive tendencies.

At the core of Hicks’ practice is his material-driven approach. A fervent student of Material Science, he examines the promises and pitfalls of synthetic materials, exploring their cultural, emotional and environmental significance in a rapidly globalising world. Hicks’ hybrid works, which straddle painting and sculpture, often feature expanded polystyrene; a synthetic material emblematic of modernity’s disposable culture. Polystyrene's duality fascinates Hicks: while inherently destructive and corrosive, it also embodies playfulness, flexibility and resilience. In his hands, this material becomes both a reflection of human ingenuity and a critique of its consequences. 

The interplay between the artificial and the natural, the permanent and the disposable, lies at the heart of Hicks’ art. Hicks’ definition of nature is expansive, encompassing urban landscapes and the human impact on them. Hicks’ work articulates the emotional and existential weight of contemporary life, transforming ubiquitous, everyday objects into charged symbols of societal and environmental decay. While his work critiques the exploitative systems of corporate and industrial power, it retains an empathy for individuals, extending grace and warmth to both human and non-human entities.

In July 2024, Hicks’ first West Coast solo exhibition, Favorite Planet, opened at the Camden Annex gallery of Marc Selwyn Fine Art in Beverly Hills, LA. This followed his debut London solo exhibition, Gothica, in March 2023 at Maximillian William. Hicks’ earlier solo exhibition, Wilt, was mounted at Kaboom Books in Houston, TX, in 2015. In 2024, Hicks participated in the group exhibition 5 Years at Maximillian William, London, UK.

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