Nathaniel Rhodes

Nathaniel Kyng Rhodes, known as Kyng Rhodes, is an American painter, graphic designer and muralist based in Indianapolis. His work has been featured in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Flower Show, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, and at BUTTER art fair. As member of the Eighteen Collective, he contributed to Black Lives Matter street mural (Indianapolis).

Early life and education Rhodes's artistic endeavors started at the age of three after he rifled through his mother's cosmetic products and then proceeded to use them as his medium when drawing on the walls and furniture of his home. After this, Rhodes was often gifted art supplies by family members.

Career After college, Rhodes worked as a graphic designer. During the summer of 2020, Rhodes participated in one of Indianapolis's Black Lives Matter protests while holding up a painting he created depicting a fist. He was discovered by Malina Simone Bacon and Alan Bacon, the co-founders of GANGGANG, who offered to purchase his painting. Rhodes rejected their offer at the time, but later participated in the Black Lives Matter street mural in Indianapolis at their invitation. At this point he became an independent artist.

In 2022, Rhodes was chosen to be a part of the new Gainbridge Fieldhouse galleries incorporating historical photographs and commissioned artwork to show the history of basketball in Indiana. As one of the twenty-two artists selected for this project, Rhodes painted a series of pieces depicting Pacers' icons from the American Basketball Association era of the team in floral environments. Rhodes's paintings are located on the Key Bank Suites Level of the building. A free open house called "The Art of the Game" was held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on October 10, 2022, to display the new works of art.

The Eighteen Collective were invited to the Indianapolist Museum of Art at Newfields to have a year-long exhibit that would display their individual pieces outside of the mural. This exhibit, titled "We. The Culture," was up in the museum from September 2022 until September 2023, and it included two paintings by Rhodes: "Colored King" and "Woman in Paradise".

For the Philadelphia Flower Show, the museum invited Rhodes to create a mural that would highlight the concept of art in nature. Rhodes painted birds spreading seeds over a garden and into places where they previously were not "allowed to grow" as a symbolic representation of how he expected to see Newfields's connection with the underrepresented artists in the community grow.

In May 2023, Newfields reopened their American galleries under the title "Work in Progress: Conversations about American Art", featuring two of Rhodes' paintings: "Big White System" (2022) and "Red Handed" (2022). "Red Handed," referred to the red handprint from the Black Lives Matter mural, and was painted in response to Barkley Hendricks's "Dr. Kool" (1973) painting.

In 2024, Rhodes was selected to be a part of the All Lanes Lead to Indy Art Project. The Indy Arts Council, Indiana Sports Corp. and USA Swimming chose five artists to create original artwork to welcome attendees of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at the Lucus Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

In late 2024, Rhodes' work was featured in "Self-serenades." The exhibition was a collaboration between the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and GANGGANG, and included two exhibitions ("Self-Serenades" and "Hector Del Campo: Perennial Topographies") located in the Oval Promenade and Wood Room at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

Work

"Colored King" and "Woman of Paradise," We. The Culture at Newfields (2022–2023) PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Mural (2023) Work in Progress: Conversations about American Art (2023) "Monkey See, Monkey Do," BUTTER Art Fair, 2023. "Reasons" at the Indiana Memorial Union art collection, Indiana University, Bloomington.