Reviving Earth’s Colors | Material Storytelling Through Sustainable Practice

  • Studio Practice

    My studio practice is interdisciplinary, curious, and experimental. I am inspired by plants, nature, and our living world. I find joy in using pigments of the earth through painting, working with flowers through natural dyes and installation work, creating art from ephemeral materials such as tea and coffee, writing gratitude poems to my plant allies, and learning from my plant guides. My use of tea stems back to my childhood, where I grew up surrounded by numerous tea ceremonies and storytelling with visitors over tea.

    Wander through my studio practice 

  • Abenaart Shop

    Natural dyes | Earth Pigments | Paintings

    (CLOSED FOR THE SEASON)

    Abenaart Shop offers small-batch, nature-inspired creations - from naturally dyed bandanas, table runners, and scarves to handcrafted natural paints, inks, and pigment paintings. Each piece reflects the beauty of being in relationship with the earth.

    With an intentionally slow and seasonal approach, the shop opens for limited periods throughout the year. The Spring shop is open now through May 7th.

    Explore Works (Off season) 

About Abena Motaboli...

Abena Motaboli (she/her) is a Basotho-Ghanaian interdisciplinary artist, educator, natural dyer, and writer based in Chicago - on the unceded territories of the Three Fires Confederacy: Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. The artist behind Abenaart Studio, which houses her seasonal online shop and ongoing studio practice rooted in natural dyes, pigments, and ancestral materials specific to her African heritage.

Born and raised in Lesotho, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, before moving to the U.S., she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbia College Chicago and studied at L'Institut Catholique de Paris in France. With a deep commitment to social and environmental justice, her work explores belonging, interconnectedness, and material histories.

Through intuitive and restorative processes, Motaboli revives earth pigments and naturally dyed fibers, engaging in a dialogue with soil, plants, and rocks. Her research work seeks to bridge a connection between her home and where she is currently based in the U.S.

Through installation, abstract works, or vibrant mural pieces, she creates spaces for reflection, deep listening, and belonging. Guided by Ubuntu and an ethic of reciprocity and care for the land, she continues to foster communal spaces that celebrate sustainable practices, pigment traditions, and land-based storytelling.

Motaboli has exhibited at Heaven Gallery Chicago, The Bhavan Gallery London, Woman Made Gallery, The Other Art Fair Chicago, SOFA Chicago, and Aqua Art Miami. Her work is also in private collections across the U.S. Her poetry has been published in Northeastern Illinois University’s SEEDS Literary and Visual Arts Journal.

Bio Image above & banner image at the top of the page were taken in the Midwestern Prairie by Atoi Glennette