Nina Chanel Abney in the Elleboogkerk

Simultaneously with the overview of Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) at Kunsthal KAdE, there is a new installation in the Elbow Church by the American artist Nina Chanel Abney (1982), which she developed specifically for this particular space. The work Heaven's Hotline combines existing sculptures and a neon work with large vinyl canvases tailored to the size of the Elbow Church. On these, Abney displays new compositions in her signature style of abstracted, emblematic figurative visual components drawn from her everyday experiences. In her dynamic and colorful work, Nina Chanel Abney addresses a wide range of subjects, from pop and street culture to political stances.

Nina Chanel Abney is an American artist based in New York. She was born in 1982 in Harvey, Illinois. In 2004, she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. And in 2007, she obtained her Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) from Parsons School of Design in New York.

Distinctive bold style

Her works cover topics as diverse as religion, politics, art history, racial identity, sex and fame. She avoids linear narratives in favor of loose narratives. The effect is a lavish image with a spontaneous order, in which time and space are compressed and identity is interchangeable.

Her distinctive, bold style takes advantage of the continuous stream of images being poured out on us in the 21st century - in part through the Internet. Abney intertwines contemporary images by paying homage to artists of the past: the sophisticated color theories of Matisse, the legacy of Cubists like Picasso and Léger, and the social imagery of Harlem Renaissance greats like Aaron Douglas and Jacob Lawrence, whose work is now on display at Kunsthal KAdE. A booklet has been produced and is available at the Elbow Church (€5).

Public works

Abney was recently commissioned to add artwork to the facade of Lincoln Center's new David Geffen Hall in New York, drawing on the cultural heritage of the neighborhood formerly known as San Juan Hill, which was home to African-American, Afro-Caribbean and Puerto Rican families. Abney's recent public mural at the Miami World Center was inspired by Overtown, a historically black neighborhood in Miami. Abney's work is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Brooklyn Museum, New York, the Bronx Museum, New York, the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, the Rubell Family Collection, Florida, the Nasher Museum of Art, North Carolina and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, among others.

Selection of exhibitions

Anthony Gallery, Chicago (2025); Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles (2025); The School | Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, New York (1924 Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia (2023); Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (2023); Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2022); Gordon Parks Foundation, Pleasantville, New York (2022); Henry Art Gallery, Seattle (2022), Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2019-2021); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018); Contemporary Dayton, Ohio (2021); Nasher Museum of Art and Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (2017). In 2022, Nina Chanel Abney created a mural on New York's High Line.