Charles Black

Charles Black is the founder of ABB Collective and, for now, its first artist. Self-taught, based in New York, working in acrylic on canvas — thirty-seven original works in the catalogue, from two feet square to an eight-foot diptych.

Artist statement

Painting is my way of finding focus and expressing the complexities of my mind. Thought, like paint, is fluid — it shifts, transforms, and reacts. Add water, and it flows. Add fire, and it burns. Infuse love, and it radiates. Artistic expression brings clarity and fulfillment.

At my core, I am an artist shaped by experience rather than formal training. I have always found solace in honest expression — free from pressure or rigid purpose. Painting, for me, is about feeling and allowing creativity to unfold naturally.

Growing up in Manhattan with a psychologist for a father, I learned the value of empathy, self-awareness, and the complexities of human nature. My father often spoke about the duality of self — the version we show the world and the one we know internally. Art helps me navigate that intersection, embracing thought in its ever-evolving form.

As a teenager, I had a lot of friends in the graffiti scene but remained an observer until I started painting smiley faces around my neighborhood — my first act of creative expression. In college, I filled sketchbooks with doodles, finding comfort in the act itself. Later, working in sales, I doodled sketches during calls, filling notebooks at a vigorous pace with patterns and shapes. Eventually, I took a leap — buying canvases and paint with no specific plan, only the desire to explore.

What began as aimless doodling evolved into structured compositions and, ultimately, full-scale artwork. I constantly experiment with styles and techniques, allowing my work to evolve as my thoughts do.

Where the name came from

I started posting the work as @abstractbyblack — abstract art, and my last name. It stuck. Abstract By Black is where ABB Collective got its name.

Commissions

Available for specific dimensions or palettes. Tell us the wall and the timeline: hello@abbcollective.com.