Nikolai Smith started drawing and painting in early childhood in Moscow, where his family encouraged him to develop his talents and introduced him to some of the world’s greatest art works in the local galleries, largely thanks to his Russian grandmother who worked in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. In late 2006, he came back to London and completed his secondary education in South London. He then came to see art was more than something he was good at - he realised it was his vocation. Increasingly, he found himself drawn into a new social life with its own innovative culture, expressed through the distinctive patterns and graffiti style still seen in some of his most recent works. 

In his late teens, he worked as a model for a number of fashion brands, including Cerruti, Stone Island and Paul Smith: but this was not a happy time for Nikolai.  Aged 18, he was sectioned and diagnosed as a “paranoid schizophrenic”.

This was a hard time and has left him with tough memories: more importantly, it has left him with an experience he believes can be turned to good for himself and for others who have travelled the same hard road of mental illness. This is largely why he has thrown himself back into the world of creative art so passionately - expressing himself in ways he knows will not appeal to everyone, but feels committed to as - in his own words - he wants “not only to survive, but thrive”. Having just turned 26 and been hospitalised four times, Nikolai has been exhibited in the Saatchi Gallery, the OXO Tower, the Bethlem Gallery and is gaining increasing recognition as a young British artist.

As well as believing in sincerity as his main source of inspiration, he wants to do all he can to promote an understanding that it’s good for everyone facing mental health issues to discuss their feelings openly with family, friends, and professionals.  It’s not a solution, obviously - but it's a vital help and can make all the difference. 

This is Nikolai’s story: it has a lot in common with countless young people here in this country and across the world, regardless of race, class, religion, politics, or vocation: yes, he’d like to be a successful artist but, above all, he wants to encourage others on their journey so we all feel, as he does, encouraged and determined to achieve the best version of what we’re capable of becoming.