Noelle Africh (b. 1992, Chicago) is a painter who lives and works in Chicago. They received an MFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BS in mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and are a lecturer in SAIC's painting and drawing program. Also trained as a mathematician, Africh approaches painting as a parallel inquiry into emergence, tracing how latent structures surface from unstable material conditions. Recent work uses distemper, a historic medium of pigment, chalk and glue binder once common in decorative and scenic painting, treated not as a stable technique but as a volatile material system. Applied hot, its surface appears cloudy and unstable, and Africh reactivates it as it cures, letting the image unfold through partial revelations. Their solo exhibitions include "Signal" at Twelve Ten in Chicago (2026) and "Superstition" at Slow Dance in Chicago.
