[4] At 20, de Nieves was accepted to the California College of the Arts, but decided against paying the tuition fees and instead moved to San Francisco's Mission District.
In 2014, he completed his first life-sized work, Day(ves) of Wonder, which returned the artist back to his performance roots in Mexican textiles and Bushwick drag.
[6] Later that year, De Nieves and composer Colin Self staged The Fool which was an hour-long opera comprising a 15-member chorus, four soloists, and an instrumental quintet.
De Nieves' art practice investigates notions of transformation, beauty, the human body, sexuality, and history.
De Nieves has performed at Documenta 14, Performa 13, MoMA PS1, ICA Philadelphia, The Watermill Center, The Kitchen, Artist's Space, and numerous other venues.