Aminata Niang

As the daughter of Senegalese immigrants, my work is shaped by questions of culture, faith, belonging, and self-understanding. Through painting, I explore the space between inherited traditions and personal discovery, drawing from my experiences as a second-generation Senegalese American.

My work is influenced by both my spiritual journey and memories of Senegal, where I observed a sense of freedom, connection, and appreciation that continues to inform my understanding of contentment. Working between portraiture and abstraction, I use symbolism, color, layering, and intuitive mark making to reflect on vulnerability, memory, and transformation.

As I move further toward abstraction, painting becomes less about depicting a specific narrative and more about creating space for reflection and healing. Through repetition and layering, I engage with emotions and experiences that are difficult to articulate through words alone. The act of mark making itself becomes a reflective and therapeutic practice, allowing emotions, questions, and moments of growth to surface organically. These visual gestures mirror the ongoing process of navigating faith, growth, and self-discovery.

Ultimately, my work is an ongoing search for connection between past and present, culture and self, struggle and faith. Through painting, I create spaces where uncertainty, healing, and becoming can coexist.