“I always want the viewer to be able to feel like they have a connection with the work and recall some of their own similar experiences,” Nina Chanel Abney told W magazinein 2022. “I’m good at finding communities that want their stories to be told.” Born in 1982 and raised in Illinois, the artist has built a career confronting systemic racism, implicit biases, colonialism, and sex discrimination. Heavy subjects, yes, but Abney’s style, with its cutout quality and bright color-blocking, possesses a light touch of playfulness. Inspired by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, Aaron Douglas and Jacob Lawrence, Abney captures the feverish tempo of 21st-century culture while picturing uncomfortable racial realities. —Jeanne Malle