Nina Chanel Abney
(b. 1982)Using geometric abstraction and figuration, Nina Chanel Abney presents a sensory overload of contemporary culture and politics.
Biography
Nina Chanel Abney works across fine art and merchandise, creating paintings, toys, and more. Her style and interest in storytelling date back to a childhood love of animation—Abney would draw cartoon characters she saw on television. She would also play with paint used by her mother, an artist.
Despite this interest in art, she didn’t realize she could make a career as a painter and went to college to become a graphic designer or animator. She took coursework in computer science to aid with this career path. Following a campus walkout to protest the lack of Black faculty members, she found herself turning to political themes in her work. In 2004, Abney received her BFA in studio art from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Then, she worked in Chicago on an assembly line at Ford Motor Company. She decided to commit herself to painting, doing it every day after work, after seeing a coworker injured on the job. Eventually, she applied to graduate programs, and she graduated with an MFA from Parsons School of Design in 2007.
In 2012, Abney exhibited in the Studio Museum in Harlem's group exhibition The Bearden Project. Alongside the Studio Museum, Abney has exhibited at institutions including the Nasher Museum of Art, Chicago Cultural Center, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the California African American Museum, and the Neuberger Museum of Art. Abney entered the Studio Museum collection in 2018. Other institutions that have collected her work include the Brooklyn Museum, the Bronx Museum, the Burger Collection in Hong Kong, and the Rubell Family Collection.
Exhibitions and Events
Nina Chanel Abney
(b. 1982)Using geometric abstraction and figuration, Nina Chanel Abney presents a sensory overload of contemporary culture and politics.
Untitled, 2012
Biography
Nina Chanel Abney works across fine art and merchandise, creating paintings, toys, and more. Her style and interest in storytelling date back to a childhood love of animation—Abney would draw cartoon characters she saw on television. She would also play with paint used by her mother, an artist.
Despite this interest in art, she didn’t realize she could make a career as a painter and went to college to become a graphic designer or animator. She took coursework in computer science to aid with this career path. Following a campus walkout to protest the lack of Black faculty members, she found herself turning to political themes in her work. In 2004, Abney received her BFA in studio art from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Then, she worked in Chicago on an assembly line at Ford Motor Company. She decided to commit herself to painting, doing it every day after work, after seeing a coworker injured on the job. Eventually, she applied to graduate programs, and she graduated with an MFA from Parsons School of Design in 2007.
In 2012, Abney exhibited in the Studio Museum in Harlem's group exhibition The Bearden Project. Alongside the Studio Museum, Abney has exhibited at institutions including the Nasher Museum of Art, Chicago Cultural Center, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the California African American Museum, and the Neuberger Museum of Art. Abney entered the Studio Museum collection in 2018. Other institutions that have collected her work include the Brooklyn Museum, the Bronx Museum, the Burger Collection in Hong Kong, and the Rubell Family Collection.
Exhibitions and Events