RETNA (born Marquis Lewis 1979) is a contemporary artist, primarily recognized for
graffiti art. He was born and raised in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, and started his career in the early 1990s. He developed a distinctive
constructed script which is derived from
Blackletter
Blackletter (sometimes black letter or black-letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule or Gothic type, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for ...
,
Egyptian Hieroglyphics,
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
calligraphy, as well as more traditional types of street-based graffiti. In addition to exhibiting at institutions and galleries in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
New York and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, Retna has done advertising work for brands such as
VistaJet,
Louis Vuitton, and
NikeRETNA'sartwork adorns the cover of
Justin Bieber's Purpose album that debuted in 2015. Retna has many high-profile patrons, including fast food magnate
Sam Nazarian.
Career
His hieroglyphic style artwork has also been seen on the Lower East Side on the
Rivington Street Wall near Bowery.
Museum Projects
* 2013: ''RETNA: Para mi gente''. Artist was invited to create art installation inside
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA.
Public Projects
In 2016 he was commissioned to paint the side of the 24 story public housing building, Edificio Cuauhtémoc, in the
Tlatelolco zone of Mexico City.
Solo Exhibitions
* 2017: ''MARGRAVES''
Maddox Gallery London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, UK
* 2017: ''MANO A MANO'', New Image Gallery,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, CA
* 2025: ''CARTA A MI MISMO'', Artlife Gallery,
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, FL
Controversy
Retna has also repeatedly been in the news for violent acts, which have included: destroying artworks, an accusation of
assault
In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
ing his ex-girlfriend
Brittny Gastineau, and vandalizing a Los Angeles gallery.
References
External links
{{official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20210211000425/http://www.digitalretna.com/
Graffiti Artist Retna's Murals: 5 Keys To Decoding His Language Of Symbols & What He Doesn't Give Away, by Maddox Gallery in March 2025
1979 births
Living people
American graffiti artists
American album-cover and concert-poster artists
Calligraffiti artists