Nick Simko’s work investigates the interwoven technologies of identity and photography. Simko uses portraiture as a method to critically examine cultural frameworks of authenticity and artifice, inside and outside, and what is said versus how it is said. Photographic imaging is the foundation of Simko’s work because it parallels this tension, reflecting both surface appearances and inferred depths, while also problematizing the relationship between them. Simko’s photographs, collage, tapestries, and sculptures have been exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the United States. He is a regional representative for the Society for Photographic Education LGBTQ Caucus and a 2019 recipient of a ONE Archives Foundation LGBTQ Research Fellowship. Simko holds an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico, and a BFA in Art History, Theory & Criticism from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He is Assistant Professor of Photography at Fort Hays State University.