Robert Nava b. 1985
Born in Indiana and based in Brooklyn, Robert Nava is known for his singular style of figurative painting that channels an irreverent mythical ethos. Nava graduated with his BFA degree from Indiana University Northwest in 2008 and went on to receive his MFA from Yale University in 2011—but thereafter would forge his own creative path that rebelled against his formal education. Using a variety of materials, including acrylic, spray paint, and grease pencils, Nava renders a bestiary of creatures, both actual and fantastical, to conjure visceral emotions often associated with the wonder and rawness of childhood.
Characterized by bold, expressive brushwork, vivid colors, and explosive energy, Nava’s works have been likened to those of Cy Twombly and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and he is often considered to be aligned with the Bad Painting movement that New Museum founding curator Marcia Tucker first identified in the late 1970s. Nava’s combinations of symbols and figures evoke a primal intensity, blending deceptive simplicity with deeper psychological themes. Drawing is central to Nava’s practice, and he is known to create his canvases to techno music.
Nava is included in the collections of the Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, among many others.
