Nicola Tyson was born in 1960 in London, England. She attended Chelsea School of Art, St. Martins School of Art and Central/St. Martins School of Art in London, and currently lives and works in New York.

Primarily known as a painter, Tyson has also worked with photography, film, performance and the written word, in addition to running Trial BALLOON, an NYC project space in the early 90s.

In 2023, Nicola Tyson: Selected Paintings 1993-2022, the most comprehensive overview of the artist’s work to date, was published. In 2011, Tyson released the limited-edition book Dead Letter Men, which is a collection of satirical letters addressing famous male artists. Her unique archive of color photos documenting the London club scene of the late 1970’s — Bowie Nights at Billy’s Club — was the subject of shows, both in New York and London, in 2012 and 2013.

In 2025, Tyson was commissioned for Hayward Gallery’s public project banner. Tyson has mounted solo exhibitions at Petzel Gallery, New York (2026, 2025, 2024, 2020, 2016); Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles (2024); Nino Mier Gallery, Brussels (2022); Sadie Coles HQ, London (2021, 2017, 2013); The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis (2017); The Drawing Room, London (2017); Nathalia Obadia, Paris (2015); Susanne Vielmetter Gallery, Los Angeles (2014); White Columns, New York (2012), among others.

She has participated in group exhibitions at the Design Museum, London (2025); The Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, Fort Worth (2022); Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (2021); Drawing Room, London (2021, 2018); Drawing Center, New York (2020); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2018); Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland (2016); Wexner Center for the Arts (2013); and Museum of Modern Art, New York (2012); among others.

Tyson’s work is included in major collections such as Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and Tate Modern, London.