Nina Chanel Abney

BENTONVILLE
“Mull it Over”

Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982, Chicago IL) is a contemporary American artist whose work explores abstraction and popular culture with a focus on narratives that allow wide interpretation. Combining representation and abstraction, Nina Chanel Abney’s paintings capture the frenetic pace of contemporary culture. Her use of shapes and symbols has translated into a unique visual language that is immediately recognizable. Working in acrylics and spray paint, Abney’s ability to translate her fine art practice to large-scale murals is seamless and authentic.

Abney has permeated popular culture through fashion and media collaborations as well as murals in celebrated locations including the Cleveland Cavaliers Arena, Coney Island, the Palais de Tokyo museum in Paris, the Gwangju Biennale, and the Musee Art Contemporain in Lyon. As part of the Rubell Collection’s 30 Americans exhibition, Abney’s graduate school works were among some of the most talked about, propelling her to early recognition among the company of David Hammons, Kara Walker, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 2017, the Nasher Museum at Duke University presented Abney’s first solo museum show (Royal Flush), surveying 10 years of her work. Abney has been featured in multiple publications of art, culture, and fashion (Vanity Fair and Cultured Magazine among others), and her works have been acquired in the private collections of Alisha Keys and Swizz Beats (the Dean Collection), as well as Don and Maria Rubell (The Rubell Collection) and many others.