Winging It : Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles

Jeffrey Deitch is pleased to present Winging It, a captivating exhibition of new work by Nina Chanel Abney that redefines spirituality, resilience, and modern survival. Known for her vibrant use of color and layered narratives, Abney delves into the improvisational ways in which people navigate life’s uncertainties—through religion, astrology, social media affirmations, and even the ubiquitous, yet often dismissed, aesthetic of aspirational decor. Through vibrant, large scale paintings, works on paper, sculptures, and an immersive installation that debuts Abney’s first neon work, Winging It interrogates the blurred boundaries between sacred and secular, critiquing the commodification of belief while celebrating resilience, humor, and adaptability. The exhibition examines how individuals construct meaning in a world where traditional frameworks often falter, reimagining spirituality as something flexible, unstructured, and personal—qualities that resonate with the experience of “winging it” through life, especially when the formal answers and comforts of organized faith feel distant or irrelevant.

The title, Winging It, captures the essence of navigating a chaotic world without a clear guide, nodding to the adaptability and creativity required to piece together spiritual and emotional sustenance from fragmented sources. Abney juxtaposes symbols of traditional religion—angels, halos, and altars— with modern motifs, blending the sacred with the secular. Central to the exhibition is the idea that coping mechanisms, from TikTok mantras to “Live, Love, Laugh” signs, offer both comfort and scrutiny. These mass-produced artifacts, often categorized as “cheugy,” embody the commercialization of hope. Abney transforms them into cultural touchstones that reveal the aspirational, yet deeply human, effort to find solace in a fractured world.

Abney reimagines classical religious painting, investigating the tension between faith, performance, and societal expectation. A striking acrylic on canvas triptych inspired by Tyra Banks’ iconic “we were all rooting for you!” outburst serves as the exhibition’s emotional anchor. This painting explores how systems of validation—be they religious institutions, astrology memes, or motivational culture— oscillate between encouragement and judgment, reflecting the precarious balance between support and condemnation. The exhibition’s reimagined religious icons reinvent familiar symbols to reflect a more inclusive and accessible spirituality. This vision doesn’t promise all the answers or a straightforward path; instead, it suggests that spirituality can be a fluid, evolving practice, just as life itself is.

Abney further reinterprets traditional religious scenes with a modern, secular spin in her vibrant, multi-panel works on paper. In Breaking Bread, a reimagining of The Last Supper, a classic scene becomes a lively Black family reunion. Loads of Grace depicts figures with bright yellow halos, akin to the Virgin Mary, participating in the mundane act of washing clothes in a laundromat. By grounding religious imagery in the every day, Abney celebrates the sacredness of community and shared resilience, especially for those who might not feel welcomed by traditional spaces of worship. In The Pursuit of Happiness, a large sculptural piece, a figure surrounded by candles holds an American flag in a scene reminiscent of a vigil. Each candle, however, represents an aspect of the American Dream—wealth, freedom, equality, safety—that people might still be praying for. It’s a somber reminder that for many, these “dreams” remain aspirational. With pieces like this, the exhibition asks viewers to consider where and how they find meaning, connection, and hope when traditional structures have proven exclusionary.

At the heart of Winging It is a monumental reredos-inspired installation (traditionally a decorative screen or backdrop behind an altar), anchored by a vinyl mural and an animated neon sign depicting Jesus creating a rainbow—a playful symbol of inclusivity, reclaiming spiritual imagery for all. The installation is accompanied by a series of letter board signs, a nod to the church signs commonly seen in neighborhoods across America. Unlike the hateful or exclusionary messages that some signs display, often condemning homosexuality or those who don’t conform, Abney’s letter boards offer modern, snappy mantras from pop culture and Black vernacular wisdom. These phrases appear across the boards, transforming everyday sayings into spiritual affirmations. In Abney’s hands, these boards become icons of a more modern spirituality—one that’s open, affirming, and full of wit.

Through her dynamic works, Abney invites viewers to embrace imperfection and reimagine spirituality as an adaptive, deeply personal act. Whether through religious iconography or the playful exploration of mass-market culture, Winging It celebrates the messy, improvisational process of finding meaning and strength in an unpredictable world. “Winging It” is transformed from a casual phrase into a philosophy about finding the sacred in uncertainty, and the comfort of community in the absence of clear answers. By embracing “winging it,” Abney encourages viewers to let go of the need for control, to make peace with life’s unpredictability, and to create personal meaning through resilience, connection, and joy. This exhibition invites viewers to reflect on where they find solace and hope, especially in a world where institutions that once provided refuge now feel out of touch. By recasting ordinary moments as acts of faith, Abney transforms spirituality into something wholly human and deeply personal—a universal invitation to connect, reflect, and find one’s own way of coping with life’s challenges, like a secular sermon with a wink.

Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982, Harvey, IL) has been honored with solo exhibitions at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia (2023); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (2023); the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2022); the Gordon Parks Foundation, Pleasantville, New York (2022; traveled to Henry Art Gallery, Seattle); the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2019–21); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018); and the Contemporary Dayton, Ohio (2021). Additionally, her solo exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (2017), toured to the Chicago Cultural Center; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the California African American Museum, Los Angeles; and the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York. Abney was recently commissioned to transform Lincoln Center’s new David Geffen Hall façade in New York, drawing from the cultural heritage of the neighborhood previously known as San Juan hill that comprised African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Puerto Rican families. Abney’s recent public mural at the Miami World Center was similarly inspired by Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood in Miami. Abney’s work is held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Bronx Museum, New York; the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; the Rubell Family Collection, Florida; the Nasher Museum of Art, North Carolina; the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; amongst others.