A'Driane Nieves San Antonio, Texas, USA, b. 1982
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 is an award-winning artist, activist, speaker, U.S. Air Force veteran, and mental-health advocate. Her work focuses on the impact of trauma—inherited, historical, personal —exposing how it shapes, alters, and redefines identity over the course of our lives. Through abstract forms and composition, she gives visible shape to the internal biological and emotional processes of adaptation, recovery, and transformation. She believes that creating and viewing visual art that addresses difficult topics can serve as a catalyst for personal growth & social change.
Nieves is the founder of Tessera Arts Collective, a not-for-profit serving women-identifying and non-binary abstract artists of color, empowering them speak their truths and transform the brokenness in their lives, and helping them to celebrate their resiliency and joy.
An acclaimed writer and speaker, Nieves' paintings are on view at public institutions and in private collections in the United States, Canada, Asia, and Australia.
Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1982
Lives and works in Greater Philadelphia Area
Education
2011 |
Associate of Arts (AA), Camden County College: |
Group exhibitions
2021 |
West Chelsea Contemporary, 'JVN x WCC On the Wall', Austin, USA |
Susan Eley Fine Art, 'Three Abstract Artists', New York, USA |
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2020 |
Susan Eley Fine Art, 'AMERICANA Part II', New York, USA |
The Delaware Contemporary, 'From Chaos to Order, Making Our Way in the New World of COVID-19', Wilmington, USA |
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2019 | UICA, 'SPECTRA', Grand Rapids, USA |
Girlboss Rally, 'Perfecting the Journey', Los Angeles, USA | |
Goat Farm Arts Center, 'Her Ritual', Atlanta, USA | |
Blavity & 21 Ninety Summit 21, Atlanta, USA | |
2018 | Regional finalist, Bombay Sapphire’s 2018 Artisan Series |
2017 | 'Saatchi Art's The Other Art Fair', New York, USA |
'Nasty Women Oakland', Oakland, USA | |
Rare Device, 'WOMEN', San Francisco, USA | |
2016 | WORKS San Jose members exhibit, 'Vote Your Subconscious', San Jose, USA |
Dibden Center for the Arts, 'AWAKEN', Johnson State College, Johnson, USA | |
2015 | Wild Goose Festival, 'Life as Art' exhibition & Q&A w/ Frank Schaeffer, Asheville, USA |
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A'Driane NievesChimera (1987), 2020Acrylic, spray paint, house paint, graphite on linen132.1 x 223.5 cm
52 x 88 in -
A'Driane NievesBecoming...Requires Blood (I), 2021Acrylic on linen171.4 x 201.9 cm
67 1/2 x 79 1/2 in -
A'Driane NievesBloodline: Origins (I), 2021Acrylic, oil stick, house paint on linen203.2 x 177.8 cm
80 x 70 in -
A'Driane NievesBloodlines: Displacement & Belonging (II), 2021Acrylic and oil stick on Belgian linen203.2 x 162.6 cm
80 x 64 in -
A'Driane NievesHealing’s Sharper Edges, 2021Acrylic, house paint on canvas76.2 x 50.8 cm
30 x 20 in -
A'Driane NievesMother Wound / Separation / Abandonment, 2021Acrylic and acrylic paint skin on canvas152.4 x 152.4 cm
60 x 60 in -
A'Driane NievesMy Body is a Hollow Receptacle of Memories, 2021Acrylic on canvas152.4 x 152.4 cm
60 x 60 in -
A'Driane NievesNo. 20, 2021Graphite, oil stick, acrylic, and house paint on linen203.2 x 177.8 cm
80 x 70 in -
A'Driane NievesShadow Work, 2021Acrylic on canvas152.4 x 152.4 cm
60 x 60 in -
A'Driane NievesWar Horse No. 21, 2021Acrylic on canvas101.6 x 101.6 cm
40 x 40 in