Combining representation and abstraction, Nina Chanel Abney’s paintings capture the frenetic pace of contemporary culture. Broaching subjects as diverse as race, celebrity, religion, politics, sex, and art history, her works eschew linear storytelling in lieu of disjointed narratives. The effect is information overload, balanced with a kind of spontaneous order, where time and space are compressed and identity is interchangeable. Her distinctively bold style harnesses the flux and simultaneity that has come to define life in the 21st century.

Through a bracing use of color and unapologetic scale, Abney’s canvases propose a new type of history painting, one grounded in the barrage of everyday events and funneled through the velocity of the internet.

Abney was born in Chicago and currently lives and works in New York. Her work is included in collections around the world, including the Brooklyn Museum, The Rubell Family Collection, Bronx Museum, and the Burger Collection, Hong Kong.

ICNCLST identified and engaged Nina Chanel Abney to join the cohort of creators in Timberland’s FUTURE73 program. The artist designed a capsule collection which saw her motifs move from canvas onto product, including Nina’s take on the iconic 10061 boot.

To celebrate the first year of Nina Chanel Abney’s NFT project, Super Cool World, ICNCLST partnered the artist with Beats by Dre to create a special, collaborative Super Cool World x Beats Studio 3, which was distributed distributed during Miami Art Week 2022 to select friends and family.

During two active solo exhibitions in New York City: Seized The Imagination at Jack Shaiman Gallery and Safe House at Mary Boone Gallery, Google invited Nina Chanel Abney to curate two simultaneous projects celebrating the Google Pixel 2.

We are proud to announce Nina Chanel Abney’s collaboration with EA Sports, coinciding with the launch of FIFA 22. As a current NY-resident and someone who played both indoor and outdoor soccer while growing up in Chicago, Nina was the perfect artist to collaborate with EA Sports on this multi-layered campaign.