Robert Nava

Nava’s playful update of history painting forges new myths for our times

This is the first monograph on New York-based artist Robert Nava (born 1985), who paints using a raw, energetic mixing of spray paint, acrylics and grease pencil. Nava’s paintings of fantastical, hybrid beasts, angels and monsters exude a playful candidness that invites viewers to reconnect with the unbridled imagination of their childhoods. Nava’s strongly contemporary aesthetic is deeply rooted in art history and the tradition of monumental history painting. Focusing on Nava’s first exhibition in London, this fully illustrated book includes his new series of large-scale battle scene paintings featuring a chimerical world of metamorphic creatures, drawing inspiration from sources as disparate as prehistoric cave paintings, Egyptian art and cartoons. A text by art historian Jason Rosenfeld and an interview with renowned sculptor Huma Bhabha also feature. With photographs of Nava’s sketchbooks and the artist working in his studio, this book is a personal and comprehensive view of his work and process.