The Seed

Komikka “The Yellow Cosmic Seed” Patton

Komikka Patton is a 2D multimedia artist whose practice interrogates the intersections of futurism, transhumanism, mythology, and narrative construction. Utilizing ink, paper, and collage, her work engages in a critical examination of the human condition, mapping the liminal spaces between materiality and metaphysics. Patton’s compositions function as fragmented archives—disassembling and reassembling time, space, and epistemological frameworks to explore the ways in which personal and collective memory shape identity, belief systems, and the perception of reality.

Her research-driven approach incorporates elements of folklore, mysticism, and speculative inquiry, creating a visual language that reflects both historical continuity and radical reimagination. Patton’s work has been exhibited at the World Trade Center and featured in Hyperallergic. She is a recipient of the Darryl Chappell Foundation Grant, a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Finalist, and a May and Samuel Rudin Foundation Scholar. Patton holds a BFA from Columbus College of Art & Design and an MFA from New York University. She currently lives and works in Charlotte, NC, where she continues to develop a body of work that challenges conventional narratives and engages with the evolving discourse on identity, temporality, and the posthuman condition.

Educational Background:

MFA in Studio Art, New York University (NYU), New York, New York (May 2018)

NYU Study Abroad Course: Educational and Social Reform, Pretoria, South Africa (Summer of 2017)

BFA in Fine Art, Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), Columbus, Ohio (May 2016)

Graduated Magna Cum Laude

Residencies

Studio Kura, Itoshima, Fukuoka, Japan (2024)

Casa-Taller Malaquita, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, (2022)

Marcos Chin (Illustrator) Mentorship (2020-2021)

Guttenberg Arts, Guttenberg, New Jersey (2019)

Ne-Na Contemporary Art Space, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2018)

Solo Exhibition History:

2022

Altruista, curated by Komikka Patton, Hibrido Santurce, San Juan, PR

(2021)

2020

GateKeepers, curated by Fatima Lastee, 5 Point Art Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

GateKeepers, curated by Amy Andrieux, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan (Digital)NYC, NY

2019

Divine Mother, curated by Anita Warren and Rob Fields, Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn, NYC, NY (Solo)

2018

In The Center of The Storm, Ne’-Na Contemporary Art Space, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Selected Group Exhibition History:

2024

Atrium Health Art Gallery, curated by Brian Stepien, Atrium Hospital, Charlotte, NC, 

Studio Kura, Studio Kura, Itoshima, Fukuoka, Japan

Black History Month, curated by Brittany Ora, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte, NC

Contemporary African Spirituality In Art, curated by Atim Annette Oton, South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, NJ

Contemporary African Spirituality In Art, curated by Atim Annette Oton, The Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

2023

In Loving Memory, curated by Carla Lopez, Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, NC

This is America, curated by Fatima Lastee, 5 Point Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

Imagined Futures, curated by Logan Cryer, Zindi Harley, Raul Romero, Teri Scott, and Morris Arboretum, The National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA  

2022

Voices Of Freedom, curated by Michael Coppage, Kennedy Heights Arts Center Lindner Annex, Cincinnati, OH

2021

Can you see me now, curated by Alan Avery, Alan Avery Art Company, Atlanta, GA

Put Your Hands Where I Can See, curated by Cameron Granger, Flux Factory, Queens, NY

Behold, curated by Ivy Jones, Welancora Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

The Mud at Our Feet, curated by Makeda Lewis, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA

WTC 3, curated by Robert Marucci, World Trade Center, NYC, NY

Resurgence, curated by Clayton Calvet, World Trade Center Oculus, NYC, NY

2020

This Is America, curated by Fatima Laster, 5 Point Art Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

We Are Here, curated by Christy O’Connor, BSB Gallery, Trenton, NJ

2019

 The Present is Trans, curated by Nairobi Marie, Langston Hughes House, Harlem, NY

Made Here, curated by Matt Barteluce and Russ Spitkovsky, Guttenberg Arts, Guttenberg, NJ

Temple of Sirus, curated by Malachi Lily, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

Vox XV, curated by Michael Clemmons and Vashti DuBois, Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 

Fruits Of Our Labor, curated by Amy Andrieux, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art House, Governor’s Island, NYC, NY

Ever Upward, curated by Sean Fuller and Monica Bill Hughes, Collar Works Art Space, Troy, NY

Publication History

UPWARD’S Quarterly Autumn 2024, February 19, 2025, Interview, https://upwardgallery.com/magazines/upwards-quarterly-autumn-2024

Moya Magazine Issue 2, December 10, 2024 Channels of Communication https://moyamagazine.com/volume2-issue2

The Mud At Our Feet at Swan Coach House, Atlanta, Burnaway, September 21, 2021 https://burnaway.org/daily/the-mud-at-our-feet/

Two Artist Evoke Celestial, Inner Realms At Swan Coach House Gallery, Arts ATL, September 13, 2021, https://www.artsatl.org/review-two-artists-evoke-celestial-inner-realms-at-swan-coach-house-gallery/

Aboard the mothership of artist Komikka “Martian” Patton, The Microscopic Giant, February 15, 2021, http://themicrogiant.com/aboard-the-mothership-of-artist-komikka-martian-patton/

Oye Drum Magazine Volume 2, July 16, 2020

“This is America' Addresses Our Troubled Time” Shepherd Express July 14, 2020, https://shepherdexpress.com/arts-and-entertainment/visual-art/this-is-america-addresses-our-troubled-time

Taji Mag Volume 22, March 7, 2020

Friend of The Artist Volume 9, FOA May 28, 2019

“Intellectual Rigor and Emotional Intensity in NYU MFA Thesis Show” Hyperallergic Media Inc. May 21, 2018. /hyperallergic.com/443547/2018-nyu-mfa-thesis-show-80wse-gallery/

Botticelli Magazine Issue 8, Issuu Inc. December 3, 2015.

Awards, Grants, and Honors

NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Finalist (2020)

Silent Partners Grant (2020)

Darryl Chappell Foundation Grant (2020)

Nominated/ Museum of Art and Design Fellowship (2018)

Martin Wong Scholarship (2017)

May and Samuel Rudin Foundation Scholarship (2017)

Winner of Lowell Tolstedt DRAWING PRIZE (2014)