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Thrilled to announce that these two chairs are now part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago! Immensely grateful to @_rinks for being such a champion of my work.

So grateful and honored 🙏🏿

@unitedstatesartists

So grateful and honored 🙏🏿

@unitedstatesartists

Link in bio to listen to my interview on @morningedition !

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

A big thanks to everyone that came to the show last week in NYC 💓

And a huge thanks to everyone at @ninajohnsongallery for making it all come together in the coolest space imaginable (that also happens to be the Green Goblin’s penthouse from the first Spiderman movie!) 🎃

Meet us in New York City! DM us to schedule a viewing of Robell Awake's "Highway Modernism.” On view through May at our salon style space.

Installation view of Robell Awake: Highway Modernism. Photo by Jacob Holler.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

Robell Awake: "Highway Modernism," opens tomorrow at Nina Johnson’s private viewing space in New York City and will remain on view through May 15th, by appointment only.

Robell Awake is an artist based in Atlanta whose practice centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship, craft, and material inquiry. Having worked as a carpenter, Awake embraces functional sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling, positioning handmade objects as sites of cultural memory and critical reflection. Each of the four chairs featured in "Highway Modernism" was carved from a single oak log that the artist split and processed himself using hand tools and pre-industrial techniques, underscoring a deep commitment to labor and process. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with a recent commission completed for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake
Firesky, 2026
White oak, naturally dyed reed, Masonite, house trim, Acrylic paint, milk paint
20L x 20W x 45.5H in.

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

“Conceptually, the exhibition pays homage to the Florida Highwaymen, a loosely affiliated group of African American landscape painters who emerged from Fort Pierce, Florida, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1990s. Known for their vibrant palettes, idealized Southern landscapes, and entrepreneurial ingenuity, the Highwaymen built sustainable creative lives despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South—selling their paintings door-to-door and working outside traditional institutional systems. Though prolific and innovative, their work has often been relegated to the category of ‘folk’ or ‘vernacular’ art rather than recognized as a significant contribution to American modernism.”

Chairs pictured are 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘺 & 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯

Chairhaus mixtape vol.1

Just finished the last chair for my show in NYC next month and the mailman drops this off 🔮
@archdigest