Shantell Martin Playing Cards

Produced in collaboration with the Whitney Museum of Art in New York.

Shantell Martin’s signature black and white drawings inspire and innovate, while exploring themes such as intersectionality, identity, and play. Her compositions are a cultural facilitator for forming new connections between fine art, education, design, and philosophy.

Founded in 1930, the Whitney Museum of American Art is the first museum dedicated to the work of living American artists - collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting twentieth-century and contemporary American art. Innovation has been the hallmark of the museum since its beginnings - The Museum’s flagship exhibition, the Biennial, is the country’s leading survey of the most recent developments in American art.

On the occasion of Shantell Martin’s recent collaboration with the Whitney Shop, LINE by Shantell Martin, theory11 is proud to announce these two decks as the first in a series through which we hope to highlight the work of truly groundbreaking artists and illustrators. Our objective was to pair our expertise in print production with the spirit and sincerity of the artist’s voice - using playing cards as a unique, handheld medium to present Shantell’s visionary art.

Shantell Martin Playing Cards feature a fully custom design inside and out, exhibiting her wonderfully crafted storytelling at every inch. The cards themselves are carefully framed in canvas-textured, blind embossed paper.

Made in the USA on FSC-certified paper derived from sustainable forests, using vegetable based inks and starch based laminates.