Mick Chivers is an artist and commercial fisherman pursuing an AB in Visual Arts from Brown University. Raised on a small homestead and participating in the region’s fishing industry, Mick grew in tune with both artisanal and industrial food-production pathways, gleaning a deep and experiential appreciation for the organisms our society extracts to sustain itself. When not in the studio, he manages an oyster farm, works as mate on a charter boat, and ventures offshore as a deckhand aboard squid, scallop, or lobster vessels.
The Great Shelf (nelly swings the doors) 2024
laserjet image transfer, oil & acrylic on canvas 60″x48″
Artist Statement
My practice represents an enmeshed reverence for the organisms we harvest to sustain a global population and the men and women (and their culture) who do what must be done. I aim to illuminate the margins of a socially distant universe for those confined to our cement grids and office cells. I do this through a visual language of organic form extracted from the organisms themselves. Materials and their natural histories are essential to my practice, highlighting transience and cycles, the impossibility of full control over Nature, and the entropic rejection of the human desire for permanence. Change is inevitable, within the ocean, aboard the vessel, or inside ourselves.
Additional Info
Artist Instagram: @mickchivers.studio
Part of Growing the NetWorks
This artist was selected by a past NetWorks Rhode Island participant as part of Growing the NetWorks — a 2025 exhibition presented by WaterFire Providence, at the WaterFire Arts Center, celebrating peer-nominated artists from across Rhode Island. Learn more at waterfire.org/growingthenetworks
Highlighting the work of selected artists who have played vital roles in shaping the contemporary visual arts community in Rhode Island. This collection of brief video portraits provides a window into the lives, practices, and cultural contributions of professional artists.
