Overview

My work is not representative of our external; instead it is about our (Black) bodies, experiences, traumas & triumphs, healing, & identities from an internal perspective. Each piece is a part of the body, psyche, and soul turned inside out; the intimate recesses, fault lines, eroded sediment, gravity wells, multitudes, & universes we contain as we navigate a society that judges us by what can be seen with the eye.

 

— a'driane nieves

a'driane nieves was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1982.

 

A visual artist and writer, a'driane nieves is a U.S. Air Force veteran and the founder of an arts nonprofit and art magazine. Nieves is a self-taught painter of over a decade. At the urging of her therapist, she began using painting as a form of art therapy in 2011 during her recovery from postpartum depression and following her later diagnosis of bipolar disorder. This initial experimentation led to her using abstract expressionist painting as a way to overcome the impacts of childhood abuse, specifically emotional suppression. Influenced by Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, Bernice Bing, and early Black abstractionist painters ranging from Alma Thomas to Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Nieves’ paintings offer space for her own and others' quiet reflection and contemplation. She credits both the writing and visual components of her practice with helping her to find her voice and creating space for her to safely release long-buried emotions.

 

In 2018, Nieves founded Tessera Arts Collective, a not-for-profit serving women and non-binary abstract artists of color. Nieves exhibits internationally; recent solo and group shows including self evident truths (Various Small Fires, L.A); Synaptic Blooming (EDIT Projects, Seoul); Resonant Harmonies (Standing Pine Gallery, Tokyo); Notes from the Laughing Barrel (Galerie Marguo, Paris); in addition to presentations at Frieze London, L.A; Art021 Shanghai. Her work can be found in collections across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, including Fondation Louis Vuitton, Dangxia Art Space, Beijing, Spurs Collection in San Antonio, USA, and the Rennie Museum, Vancouver, Canada. Nieves will make her institutional debut this upcoming fall with a solo presentation at Le Consortium Museum (Dijon, France).

Biography

Born 1982 in San Antonio, Texas. Lives and works in Greater Philadelphia Area.

Founder & Executive Director, Tessera Arts Collective

 

Education

2011

Associate of Arts (AA), Camden County College 

 

Solo Exhibitions

2024

Consortium Museum, let's dance our way back home, Dijon, France

 

The Armory Show 2024, Wholeness is Worth its Weight, New York, USA

 

Various Small Fires, self evident truths, Los Angeles, USA

2023

Galerie Marguo, Synaptic Blooming, hosted by Edit Projects, Seoul, South Korea

 

Galerie Marguo, im a Survivor, Paris, France (online)

 

Galerie Marguo, Notes from The Laughing Barrel, Paris, France

2022

Galerie Marguo, Notes from the Healing Circle (online presentation), Paris, France


Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

Standing Pine, Resonant Harmonies, Nagoya, Japan

2023

Galerie Marguo, ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China

 

Various Small Fires, Frieze London 2023, London, UK

 

Galerie Marguo, Home Run, Casa Marguo Inaugural Exhibition, Menorca, Spain

 

Gillian Jason Gallery, Beyond Figuration: There and Now, London, UK

 

BODE Projects, Color Coded, Berlin, Germany

 

Smart Fine Arts, Women in Abstraction, Hong Kong

 

Galerie Marguo, Art Paris 2023, Paris, France

 

Bode Projects Gallery, Color Coded, Berlin, Germany

2022

Galerie Marguo, ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China

 

Simon Lee Gallery, Frieze London, London, England

 

Simon Lee Gallery, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland

 

Consortium Museum, The Drawing Center Show, Dijon, France

2021

Galerie Marguo, ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China

 

West Chelsea Contemporary JVN x WCC On the Wall”, Austin, USA

 

Susan Eley Fine Art, Three Abstract Artists, New York, USA

2020

Susan Eley Fine Art, AMERICANA Part II, New York, USA

 

The Delaware Contemporary, From Chaos to Order, Making Our Way in the World of COVID-19, Wilmington, USA

2019

UICA, SPECTRA, Grand Rapids, USA

 

Girlboss Rally, Perfecting the Journey, Los Angeles, USA

 

Goat Farm Arts Center, Her Ritual, Atlanta, USA

2017

Saatchi Art, The Other Art Fair, New York, USA

 

Rare Device, WOMEN, San Francisco, USA

2016

Dibden Center for the Arts, AWAKEN, Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont, USA

2015

Wild Goose Festival, Life as Art exhibition & Q&A w/ Frank Schaeffer, Asheville, USA


Collections

Rennie Museum, Vancouver, Canada

X Museum, Beijing, China
Dangxia Art Space, Beijing, China

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France

Spurs Collection, San Antonio, USA

Podo Museum, South Korea

Private collections across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia & Australia 

 

Murals & Public Art

2021  

Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, USA

2019   

Streets Dept. Walls, Fashion District, Philadelphia, USA

 

Publications

2023

a'driane nieves, notes from the laughing barrel, Marguo Books (essay collection)

2021

Abstractions Magazine ISSUE 001, Tessera Arts Collective

2020

Schiffer Publishing, The Motherhood of Art, Marissa Huber & Heather Kirtland, interview and photos

2019

Create Magazine, Issue XI

2017

Ashley M. Jones, Magic City Gospel, Hub City Press, book cover

2015

Ashlee Wells Jackson, The 4th Trimester Bodies Project, interview and photos

 

Bibliography

2024

Milosevic, Mia, “A’Driane Nieves Dismantles The Policing of Emotionality in self-evident truths @ VSF In Los Angeles,” AUTRE Magazine, March 9.

 

Griffin, Jonathan, “Here’s What Inspired Self-Taught Artist A’Driane Nieves In the Creation of Her First Solo Show,” Cultured, February 27.

2023

Halperin, Julia, “Painting Outside the Lines: 7 Women Pushing the Boundaries of Abstract Art,” W Magazine, December 13.

 

Manning-Schaffel, Vivian, “A’Driane Nieves Embraces the Abstract,” Shondaland, June 29.

 

Erman, Ayse, “LVH In Conversation With A’Driane Nieves,” March 17.

2021

Hines, Bethany, “Painting helped this self-taught artist find balance with bipolar disorder. Now, she’s helping others,” CNN, June 21.

 

Van Ness, Jonathan, “How Did You Become Such An Amazing Artist? with A’Driane Nieves,” Getting Curious with JVN, March 3. (Podcast).

2020

Amataya Studio, “Dear Artist Season 2 Episode 7 with A’Driane Nieves,” Dear Artist Project, May 22. (Podcast).

 

Popova, Ekaterina, “Don’t Be Afraid to Take Up Space,” Create Magazine, April 10. (Podcast)

 

López, Wit, “Curator Close-up, A’Driane Nieves of Tessera Arts Collective, Artblog, March 19.

 

Nelms, Satya, “Drawing Boundaries and Holding Grace: In the Garden with A’Driane Nieves,” Our Mother’s Gardens, March 1. (Podcast).

2019

Buteyn, Kaylan, “Processing trauma, finding your voice, and building a legacy with A’Driane Nieves,” Artist/Mother Podcast, October 28. (Podcast).

 

Nieves, A’Driane, “Streets Dept. Walls: Marrying My Philly & Southwestern Roots For Fashion District Philadelphia,” Medium, September 16.

 

Dark, Natalie,“Meet the Community That Nurtures My Art & Helps Me Build Resilience”, Everyday Health, May 8.

 

Curtis, Tiffany, “Herstory”, Black History Untold.

2018

Curtis, Tiffany Lashai, “New Fishtown Gallery Spotlights Women Artists of Color”, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 4.

 

Blair, Gabrielle, “Creating A Family Charter,” Design Mom, September 6.

 

Harris, Ida, “13 Incredible Black Artists, Past And Present, Everybody Should Know”, Blavity, February 6. “Painting Saved My Sanity,” The Creativity Habit. (Podcast).

2017

KC, “Artist Spotlight: A’Driane Nieves”, Rare Device Blog, May 1.

2016

“A’Driane Nieves on The Future of Art”, The Future According to Women, MISC Magazine.

 

Amanpour, Christiane, “Bono Just Became Glamour’s First Man of the Year,” Glamour Magazine, October 31.

Works
  • after all of this time, i’ve finally learned to go the way my blood beats. (baldwin) II
    a'driane nieves
    after all of this time, i’ve finally learned to go the way my blood beats. (baldwin) II, 2024
    Acrylic and house paint on Belgian linen
    127 x 177.8 cm (50 x 70 in)
  • an embodied legacy/look at how your garden has matured/ woman-ish in my ways/ hope I've made you proud
    a'driane nieves
    an embodied legacy/look at how your garden has matured/ woman-ish in my ways/ hope I've made you proud, 2024
    Acrylic and house paint on Belgian linen
    177.8 x 203.2 cm (80 x 70 in)
  • it is here amongst the flowers and thorns, with my hands buried deep in the soil that i weep, i dream, i dance with both the past and the future, i tether myself to hope, and fight to grasp ahold of what feels just beyond my reach
    a'driane nieves
    it is here amongst the flowers and thorns, with my hands buried deep in the soil that i weep, i dream, i dance with both the past and the future, i tether myself to hope, and fight to grasp ahold of what feels just beyond my reach, 2024
    Acrylic and house paint on Belgian linen
    162.6 x 182.9 cm (64 x 72 in)
  • Exuberant Synaptogenesis #1
    a'driane nieves
    Exuberant Synaptogenesis #1, 2023
    Acrylic, house paint and sanguine dry lead on Belgian linen
    152.4 x 182.9 cm (60 x 72 in)
  • Exuberant Synaptogenesis #2
    a'driane nieves
    Exuberant Synaptogenesis #2, 2023
    Acrylic and house paint on Belgian linen
    182.9 x 152.4 cm (72 x 60 in)
  • My Window of Tolerance is Increasing
    a'driane nieves
    My Window of Tolerance is Increasing, 2023
    Acrylic, house paint and graphite on Belgian linen
    152.4 x 152.4 cm (60 x 60 in)
  • Neuroplasticity (Transformative Re-Wiring) #4
    a'driane nieves
    Neuroplasticity (Transformative Re-Wiring) #4, 2023
    Acrylic, pastel and pencil on paper
    76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in)
    Framed: 99 x 79 x 4 cm (39 x 31 1/8 x 1 5/8 in)
  • Notes #3
    a'driane nieves
    Notes #3, 2023
    Acrylic on paper
    41.9 x 29.5 cm (16 1/2 x 11 5/8 in)
    47.3 x 34.5 cm (framed)
  • A Somatic Feeling
    a'driane nieves
    A Somatic Feeling , 2022
    Acrylic, house paint on Belgian linen
    152.4 x 152.4 cm
    60 x 60 in
  • An atypical black hole in a typical universe
    a'driane nieves
    An atypical black hole in a typical universe, 2022
    Acrylic, house paint on Belgian linen
    Diptych, each 182.9 x 152.4 x 3.8 cm (72 x 60 x 1 1/2 in)
  • Between Two Lungs (Somatic Breaths)
    a'driane nieves
    Between Two Lungs (Somatic Breaths) , 2022
    Acrylic, house paint
    Belgian linen
    121.9 x 91.4 cm (48 x 36 in)
  • Bloodlines: Madonna and Child, Mother and Me
    a'driane nieves
    Bloodlines: Madonna and Child, Mother and Me, 2022
    Acrylic, oil stick, and graphite on paper
    41.9 x 29.2 cm (16 1/2 x 11 1/2 in)
    51 x 38 x 3 cm (framed)
  • Coagulation: When The Healing Factors Rush In
    a'driane nieves
    Coagulation: When The Healing Factors Rush In, 2022
    Acrylic and house paint on Belgian linen
    203.2 x 177.8 cm (80 x 70 in)
  • I Brought You with Me
    a'driane nieves
    I Brought You with Me, 2022
    Acrylic, sanguine dry lead on paper
    76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in)
    86 x 66 x 3 cm (framed)
  • I’ve Given Up The Mud of The Past For Flowers of Healing Instead
    a'driane nieves
    I’ve Given Up The Mud of The Past For Flowers of Healing Instead, 2022
    Acrylic and house paint on Belgian linen
    152.4 x 243.8 cm (60 x 96 in)
  • Mutable (Shapeshifting)
    a'driane nieves
    Mutable (Shapeshifting), 2022
    Acrylic on paper
    76.2 x 55.9 cm (30 x 22 in)
    86 x 66 x 3 cm (framed)
  • My life has been a study in self revolution
    a'driane nieves
    My life has been a study in self revolution, 2022
    Acrylic, house paint, graphite, sanguine dry lead on Belgian linen
    177.8 x 127 x 3.8 cm
    70 x 50 x 1 1/2 in
  • Notes From the Healing Circle (I)
    a'driane nieves
    Notes From the Healing Circle (I), 2022
    Acrylic, house paint on Belgian linen
    203,2 x 162,6 x 3.8 cm
    80 x 64 x 1 1/2 in
  • You Wished Me Heaven But Gave Me Hell... Yet I Still Played in the Sunshine
    a'driane nieves
    You Wished Me Heaven But Gave Me Hell... Yet I Still Played in the Sunshine, 2022
    Acrylic, pastel and house paint on Belgian linen
    203.2 x 177.8 cm (80 x 70 in)
  • Chimera (1987)
    a'driane nieves
    Chimera (1987), 2021
    Acrylic, spray paint, house paint, graphite on linen
    120,5 x 202 cm
    52 x 88 in
  • Shadow Work
    a'driane nieves
    Shadow Work, 2021
    Acrylic on canvas
    152.4 x 152.4 cm
    60 x 60 in
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