Trey Abdella

Presentation by Emily Panzer and Hannah Beach

 Biography
● Trey Abdella was born in West Virginia, USA in
1994, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New
York.
● As a kid he got into a lot of trouble and as
punishment his parents wouldn’t let him go on
the computer, play video games, or play
outside.
● Instead they had Abdella do chores and one
day they gave him a pencil and paper and
according to Abdella himself, his parents said,
“Draw your own cartoons.”
“At first, I thought that was lame, but I
started trying to draw my own and then I
kind of got into it. I would just draw more,
and I guess that's what I'm still doing.”
- Trey Abdella
 School Life
● In high school Abdella began working on his
portfolio and he decided to go to art school
after graduation during this time.
● He went to West Virginia University (WVU) for a
year, but believed that many students were not
serious about it.
● He left WVU and received his BFA from the
School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2016.
● This is where he trained as a illustrator and an
animator.
● In 2019 he acquired his MFA at the New York
Academy of Art in New York as well.

- An Itch You Can’t Scratch, 78in x 68in, Mixed Media, 2020

 Personality
● According to his interview with Sasha
Bogojev Abdella is very goal oriented, and does
what he wants.
‘“When she (the guidance counselor) asked
what I would be going to college for, off the
top of my head, I just kind of spit out, "Art.
I'm going to college for art.”’
- Trey Abdella
● His work also displays a level of sarcasm, satire,
and comedy, and enjoys finding these aspects
in past experiences and translating those views
of those memories onto the canvas.
Trey Abdella, ‘Downhill from Here’ Interview Video
Inspirations & Process
● Most of Abdella’s inspiration comes from
personal experiences, pop culture he grew up
with as a child, visual advertisements
(specifically from the 70s), and lo-fi horror
films.
● He has a very animated and cartoonish
approach to his work that he pairs with
hyper-realism.
● Abdella includes many caricatures that he
creates, and occasionally references ones that
already exist, such as Tom from Tom and Jerry.
● When Abdella begins a work he creates
sketches in Photoshop, lets them sit for four
days, and goes back to see if he still likes it.
● It takes him about a week to make one work
from start to finish.
“When someone sees my work I want them
to feel like they just won a stuffed animal
from their third attempt at a claw machine.”
- Trey Abdella
 Solo Exhibitions
‘Under the Skin’ Vito Schnabel and
‘Downhill from ‘Mirrors’, Koenig Galerie, Seoul David Lewis Gallery, New York
Here’, T293, Rome ‘In the Neighborhood’, T293,
Rome

2020 2023
2019 2021 2022

‘Growing Pains’, Konig

Galerie, Berlin
‘Almost Heaven’, X Museum,
Beijing, China
‘Downhill From Here’-2019
Cherry Pie, Acrylic on Canvas, 30” x 40,” 2019

● About the Exhibition

○ In his 2019 exhibition, his pieces explore
elements and autobiographical experiences of
Treys life.
○ He claims none of the pieces displayed are
connected with each other, but are connected
to him as a person.
○ This was his first solo exhibition in Europe.
○ Much of the paintings were ordinary everyday
situations portrayed in a cartoon like manner.
 ‘Growing Pains’- 2020
Sunny Days, Acrylic on Linen, 78” x 86,” 2020

● About the Exhibition

○ His 6 pieces in this exhibition were large scaled
collages, assemblages, and paintings.
○ He incorporates themes from pop culture
along with his own personal experiences.
○ Images of his own suburban life as a child is
shown in many of the pieces in this exhibition.
○ Many of these paintings are realistically
rendered, neglecting the cartoon elements of
his previous body of work.
○ His work discusses themed on school
detentions, magic, and failed relationships
‘Mirrors’- 2021
Knotted, Mixed Media of 2D and 3D Materials
74” x 130,” 2021

● About the Exhibition

○ Trey shifts to a more horror and
sadistic side of his art making in this
show.
○ This show showcased 6 new works
from him that were claimed to be self
reflective and with mirrored imagery.
○ In this exhibition, Trey approached his
works using all types of media such
as…
■ Wigs
■ Broken Glass
■ Magic 8 Balls
■ Fake Flowers
■ Functioning Clocks
‘In the Neighborhood’- 2021
It’s Getting Late, Mixed Media of 2D and 3D Materials, and a
functional clock, 78” x 86,” 2021

● About the Exhibition

○ For this exhibition, Abdella wanted to capture
the mundane
○ He focused on the materiality of his paintings
and the functionality of materials.
■ he wanted to see how he could further
combine different materials together.
■ The painting to the right is a functionable
clock embedded into the painting.
○ Again much of his life is portrayed through bis
paintings.
‘Almost Heaven’ - 2022
The Winner Takes It All, Mixed Media,
114”x71”x3.5”, 2022
● About the Exhibition
○ First solo exhibition in Asia.
○ In this exhibition, Abdella pushes 3-d objects
with his paintings.
○ He explores darker themes and takes a darker
approach to everyday events and American
holidays and culture.
○ This serves as a intimate view into the human
experience and American culture
‘Under the Skin’ Vito Schnabel
& David Lewis Galleries - 2023
One Summer, Mixed Media, 101 ¾”x”92”x “33 ¾, 2022

● About the Exhibition

○ Abdella continues to expand his paintings on
suburbia and his own personal experiences.
○ He shifts his paintings to more assemblages and
even has strictly sculptural pieces.
○ His sculpture Under the Skin is a forensic look at
american life in a microscopic fashion. The piece is
almost 10 feet tall goes through layers of veins, hair
follicles, blood cells, and a dirt labrinth at the
bottom.
○ We can see Abdella start to stray away from
traditional paintings.
References
● https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/trey-abdella-still-in-detention/
● https://www.t293.it/artist/trey-abdella/
● https://www.artofchoice.co/exploring-the-sardonic-mind-of-trey-abdella/
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbnK-ixZVEk
● https://www.treyabdella.com/contact
● https://www.vitoschnabel.com/artists/trey-abdella?view=slider#3
● https://galeriemagazine.com/next-big-things-trey-abdella/
● https://youtube.com/shorts/5_TryiZEw4I?si=pUMV1QvuJCRTF4_i
● https://vimeo.com/777065483
● https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/painting/trey-abdella-has-growing-pains-koenig-galerie-berlin/
● https://xmuseum.org/en/exhibition/trey-abdella-almost-heaven-2/
● https://www.galleriesnow.net/shows/trey-abdella-under-the-skin/