Through her art, A'Driane Nieves maps the intricate terrain of identity, memory, and emotional life. What began as a personal healing practice has grown into a nuanced exploration of suppressed emotions, ancestral histories, and the complexities of self-expression. Nieves draws inspiration from artists such as Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, Alma Thomas, and Mary Lovelace O’Neal, working across painting, writing, soft sculpture, and text-based media. Her abstract expressionist approach emphasizes vulnerability, transformation, and nonlinear narratives, often incorporating text fragments—sometimes legible, sometimes obscured—that mirror the layered, multifaceted nature of the self. As a Black, queer, neurodivergent woman, Nieves uses her work to assert presence and agency, creating a visual language that resonates with resilience and empowerment. She is also the founder of Tessera Arts Collective, a nonprofit and magazine dedicated to fostering creative access, community building, and support for women and non-binary abstract artists of color. ...
