Robert Nava American, b. 1985

Robert Nava develops a distinctive visual language populated by hybrid creatures that draw on sources ranging from ancient hieroglyphics to contemporary animation. His large-scale paintings bridge the immediacy of childlike mark-making with the rigor of sophisticated high art. Drawing is central to Nava’s practice, a foundation that carries through his works in spray paint, acrylic, and colored pencil. In this way, his approach can be seen as extending a lineage associated with artists such as Cy Twombly and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

 

His work is held in the collections of the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; the Orange County Museum of Art, Santa Ana; and the Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga. Nava has presented solo exhibitions internationally, including Bloodsport (2022) at Night Gallery; Robert Nava (2021) at Pace East Hampton and Pace Palm Beach; Robert Nava: Angels (2021) at Vito Schnabel Gallery; and Robert Nava (2020) at Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels. Nava received his MFA from Yale University.