I believe that color is a language. I respect its materiality and follow its voice. I use color to create vivid landscapes grounded in personal and historical narratives. I am not interested in rigid chronologies and hierarchical labelings. I am an advocate for artistic freedom. Abstraction is a terrain of infinite possibility. It allows me to explore how freedom feels spiritually, metaphorically and spatially. I invite everyone to journey with me.

artist bio

Renée Elizabeth Neely-Tanner is a self-taught visual artist. She is a 2024 Artist Research Resident of the Museum of The Rhode Island School of Design and the 2023 Heimark Artist in Residence for the Ruth J. Simmons Center, Brown University. Neely-Tanner grew up in the 1960-70s Black community of Berkeley, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, VA. The culture and kinship of that community has shaped her worldview as an artist and as a person. She honors her mother Allison Virginia Tanner Neely, an ever present witness to her life and work, by adding 'Tanner' to her name.

The Leadership Alliance, Brown University honored Neely-Tanner at its 2024 Presidential Forum held at The Kennedy Center. Her painting Glory was commissioned to visually celebrate the achievements of 1000 Doctoral Scholars.  

Exhibitions: The First Unitarian Church, Providence, The WaterFire Arts Center, The RISD Museum, AS220 Project Space Gallery, Dreamscape Archive Virtual Experience, The Granoff Center for Creative Arts, Brown University, Centro Cultural das Mulheres da Mare Bahia, Brasil, The Ruth J. Simmons Center, Brown University, Arts Connect International, Boston, Providence Public Library and The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Brown University. 

Neely-Tanner holds an AB in English Literature and Cultures, Brown University and an MLIS in Library and Information Science/Archives Management, Simmons University.