Retna

RETNA (born Marquis Lewis 1979) is a contemporary artist, primarily recognized for graffiti art. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and started his career in the early 1990s. He developed a distinctive constructed script which is derived from Blackletter, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Arabic, and Hebrew calligraphy, as well as more traditional types of street-based graffiti. In addition to exhibiting at institutions and galleries in Los Angeles, Miami, London, New York and Hong Kong, Retna has done advertising work for brands such as VistaJet, Louis Vuitton, and Nike. RETNA's artwork 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.

RETNA
Born	Marquis Lewis (1979-03-24) 24 March 1979 (age 46) Los Angeles, California, United States
Known for	calligraphy, graffiti art

Career

His hieroglyphic style artwork has also been seen on the Lower East Side on the Rivington Street Wall near Bowery.^[1]

Museum projects

• 2013: RETNA: Para mi gente. Artist was invited to create art installation inside Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA.^[2]

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.^[3]

Solo exhibitions

• 2015: Articulate & Harmonic Symphonies of the Soul at Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery, Hypebeast, New York, Artsy RETNA at Hoerle-Guggenheim by Artsy Editors, at Artsy; published Feb 15, 2015; retrieved 27 September 2025^[4]
• 2017: MARGRAVES, Maddox Gallery, London, UK^[5][6]
• 2017: MANO A MANO, New Image Gallery, Los Angeles, CA^[7][8]
• 2025: CARTA A MI MISMO, ArtLife Gallery, Miami, FL ^[9]

Legal allegations

Retna was accused in 2014 of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Brittny Gastineau.^[10][11] He was also alleged in 2015 to have vandalized a Los Angeles gallery.^[12][13]