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.

2025-26 Do You Feel Like Shouting? on view at the Rhode Island State House Gallery. A spiritual and metaphorical conversation with the women, children and men enslaved by the founders of The First Unitarian Church of Providence as revealed in their Owning Our History Project.

2024 Glory commissioned by The Leadership Alliance, Brown University to visually and spiritually celebrate the achievements of 1000 Doctoral Scholars mentored through their programs.  

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

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