Exhibition: LIE DOGGO by Nina Chanel Abney

Exhibition on view:
May 18 – October 5, 2024
Saturdays 11 am - 6 pm

Artist:
Nina Chanel Abbey

Location:
The School | Jack Shainman Gallery
25 Broad Street
Kinderhook, NY

*LIE DOGGO is Nina Chanel Abney’s solo exhibition at The School | Jack Shainman Gallery*

On Saturday, Jack Shainman Gallery opened its doors to LIE DOGGO, a monumental exhibition by acclaimed artist Nina Chanel Abney. This comprehensive showcase features a new series of paintings, collages, site-specific murals, the debut of a new body of large-scale sculptures, as well as an exciting digital art installation.

The digital art installation is a result of Abney's residency with CryptoPunks, which is the first-ever Punk in Residence Program by the acclaimed Web 3 organization. The colllection addresses the disparities in value assigned to digital avatars based on gender and race, challenging societal notions of inherent value.

*Visitors are invited to collect a free Super Punk World NFT at the exhibition.*

Visitors can create their own virtual avatars, prompting reflection on the themes of concealment and confrontation in both digital and real-world identities. They are also invited to collect a free Super Punk World NFT at the exhibition.

Nina Chanel Abney explains her getting into the crypto art world, and how she was not satisfied with the amount of projects that reflected her and her community’s needs and desires – CryptoPunks has been a special NFT collection for the artist in the sense that it opened up space for individuals to get recognized in their unique ways. Calling them “a rebellious vehicle to shake things up,” Abney was excited to be working with The Punks to help challenge what art is.

“Art on the blockchain presents exciting opportunities for artists to create work that pushes boundaries of what’s possible - while simultaneously revolutionizing the traditional models of ownership and community. We are creating endless possibilities. A project that can grow indefinitely.”

— Nina Chanel Abney

In digital art on the blockchain, a “trait” usually denotes a particular characteristic or feature of an NFT. These traits can range from visual elements like colors, patterns, and designs to more abstract aspects like rarity or historical importance. Artists often embed traits in their digital artworks or collectibles to make them more unique and appealing to collectors. Consequently, a culture has developed around trading and collecting NFTs based on their distinct traits, with certain traits gaining higher value or demand within specific communities.

For this collection, Abney meticulously hand-cut and digitized each trait to create 195 unique 3D sculpted features, set against a variety of colorful backgrounds inspired by her earlier works.

Abney's work is known for its vibrant colors and geometric forms. Her art draws on the sophisticated color theories of Matisse, the legacy of cubists like Picasso and Léger, and the synesthetic sensibilities of Harlem Renaissance icons Douglas and Lawrence.

Abney's innovative approach has gained significant scholarly attention, particularly from art historian Richard J. Powell. In his recent lecture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Powell praised Abney's ability to reimagine cubism through her use of color, form, and rhythm, creating dynamic patterns and geometric configurations that challenge traditional perspectives.

The title of the collection, “LIE DOGGO,” suggests a strategy of remaining inconspicuous, and reflecting on the themes of observation and action. Through her work, Abney invites viewers to explore the space between the explicit and the implied, encouraging self-assessment and a call to action. Her complex and visually layered pieces delve into global issues such as imperialism, colonialism, biases, and systemic inequalities, revealing the subtle forces that shape these dynamics.

The exhibition features murals, aluminum sculptures, paintings, and collages that are rich in cultural symbols and gestures to highlight the commodification of identities and the reduction of individuals to stereotypes. The artist examines public and private life, power structures, and surveillance while depicting everyday spaces infused with complex social interactions and power dynamics. Abney’s works provoke viewers to reconsider familiar environments and the often unspoken social contracts that govern them, while subtly hinting at the crypto revolution.

*Visitors can create their own virtual avatars at the exhibition.*

LIE DOGGO underscores the role of art as a means to both conceal and reveal truths. By navigating the spaces between visibility and invisibility, Abney engages viewers in a dialogue that extends beyond the immediate, encouraging contemplation of the unseen forces that shape our world. Her work highlights the strength and resilience required to endure systemic adversities and to bear witness to history.

About the Artist

Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982, Harvey, IL) has been honored with solo exhibitions at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia (2023); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (2023); the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2022); the Gordon Parks Foundation, Pleasantville, New York (2022; traveled to Henry Art Gallery, Seattle); the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2019–21); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018); and the Contemporary Dayton, Ohio (2021). Additionally, her solo exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (2017), toured to the Chicago Cultural Center; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the California African American Museum, Los Angeles; and the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York.

Abney was recently commissioned to transform Lincoln Center’s new David Geffen Hall façade in New York, drawing from the cultural heritage of the neighborhood previously known as San Juan hill that comprised African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Puerto Rican families. Abney's recent public mural at the Miami World Center was similarly inspired by Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood in Miami. Abney’s work is held 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; amongst others.

*Photo credit: Courtesy of Carolina Performing Arts*

About the Gallery

Jack Shainman Gallery has been dedicated from its inception to championing artists who have achieved mastery of their creative disciplines and are among the most compelling and influential contributors to culture today. For nearly four decades, the Gallery has earned a reputation for introducing international artists to American audiences, and for promoting and developing young and mid-career artists who have gone on to gain worldwide acclaim, presenting the first New York exhibitions of artists including Nick Cave, Hayv Kahraman, Kerry James Marshall, Meleko Mokgosi, Richard Mosse, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Hank Willis Thomas, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, among many others. Today, Jack Shainman Gallery is celebrated for its multicultural roster of emerging and established artists and estates who engage in the social and cultural issues of their time.