Nina Chanel Abney

Born in Chicago, IL, 1982
Lives and works in New York, NY

In the November 2008 issue of W Magazine, a 26-year-old Nina Chanel Abney explained to Haven Thompson how celebrity scandals inspire some of her vibrant, often brazen paintings that at once suggest Francis Bacon, David Hockney, and contemporary street murals. “I’m fascinated by how celebrity news has become not more interesting, but more important than politics. I like to infuse that with race issues,” Abney said, referring to her 2007 solo debut show, Dirty Wash, at New York’s Kravets|Wehby gallery.

Biographical information courtesy of: Corcoran Gallery of Art and Rubell Family Collection