In Conversation: Robert Nava & Christian Luiten

In Conversation: Robert Nava & Christian Luiten

Avant Arte co-founder Christian Luiten recently caught up with NYC-based artist Robert Nava on Clubhouse.

Artist Robert Nava sits on a chair

We recently caught up with NYC-based artist Robert Nava in a conversation hosted by Avant Arte co-founder Christian Luiten on Clubhouse.

Nava, now represented by PACE gallery, discussed the early stages of his career and the inspiration he draws from his time as a truck driver, the profound effect of music on his artistic process and the ways that Instagram has allowed a wider audience to connect with his work – Christian included! Listen to highlights from their conversation below.

Robert Nava was born in 1985 in East Chicago, USA, and now lives and works in New York.

Works by Robert Nava

Robert Nava effortlessly institutes these liberties we commonly associate with children’s work, he draws inspiration from the complex line of great abstract masters along with the archaic mystery of early civilisations – all dwelling under the visceral umbrella of childish fantasy.


More in this series

abstract blue artwork by Anish Kapoor
article

Norman Rosenthal on Anish Kapoor

Norman Rosenthal, guiding force behind the artist's first silkscreen print, reflects on his relationship with artworks by Anish Kapoor – shiny, dirty and sublime – since they first crossed paths in 1978.

5 min read
corner detail of four original artworks on paper
article

Curated by Julian Schnabel

Palazzo-dwelling painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel is back. This time, with a selection of original works by artists from his own collection.

3 min read
pink butt plug on wooden chair
article

Butt plugs, Santa Claus & Paul McCarthy

"A joke, but serious."

6 min read
JR: Miniature Giants (Interview)
4:46
video

JR: Miniature Giants

Installations by JR are some of the most viewed artworks in the world. Ahead of our first collaboration, we visited the legendary photographer in Paris to talk about scale, scaffolding, the ever-growing ambition of his public projects and why he wants to stay naïve forever.

14 min read

Insightful?

Insightful?

Subscribe to the Avant Arte newsletter for the art world in your inbox.


Discover more insights

Gemma Rolls-Bentley poses in front of green cabinet full of various artworks
interview

Gemma Rolls-Bentley's Collection

For Gemma Rolls-Bentley, collecting begins with understanding your own values and what you represent. As a curator and creative consultant, this is how she approaches her own collection as well as those she builds for others – guided by the idea that art should hold real meaning for those who spend time with it. The art that fills her South London home is a reflection of the queer family she is creating with her wife, poet and dementia specialist, Danielle Wilde.

6 min read
Are NFTs queerer than we think?
essay

Are NFTs queerer than we think?

When it comes to diversity, NFTs don’t have the best rep. But the good news is that countless underground and established queer artists are embracing this relatively young art history.

6 min read
Avant Essay, I feel like Pablo
essay

I feel like Pablo

Kanye West named Pablo Picasso as one of his role models, but the two of them have more than art in common. What do we do about our problematic faves? Can you separate the art from the artist?

5 min read
Close up of JR in a red coat, sunglasses and a hat
00:59
video

JR

French artist JR takes public art to the next level. For nearly two decades, he’s made huge black-and-white photo installations in collaboration with local communities across the world. In this Artist’s Artist, we take a look at the backstory.

3 min read