Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush

Abney, born in 1982, is at the forefront of a generation of artists that is unapologetically revitalizing narrative figurative painting, and as a skillful storyteller, she visually articulates the complex social dynamics of contemporary urban life. Her monumental paintings are lively menageries that feature violent villains, unwitting victims, aspirational heroes and ineffectual anti-heroes, set against the backdrop of narratives that touch on politics, race, homophobia, celebrity, consumerism and other potentially incendiary topics. The artist has said that her work is “easy to swallow, hard to digest,” and certainly its playful and seductive nature belies its often serious tone. Abney was identified by Vanity Fair magazine as one of the many artists championing the Black Lives Matter movement.

Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush is organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University located in Durham, North Carolina, and curated by Marshall N. Price, Nancy Hanks Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Generous support for this project is also provided by the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art and the Purchase College Foundation.