Rachel Grobstein

Infra-ordinary
June 9 – July 21, 2018
Gallery Two

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Infra-ordinary, 2018, Installation View
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Infra-ordinary, 2018, Installation View
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Infra-ordinary, 2018, Installation View
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Infra-ordinary, 2018, Installation View
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Infra-ordinary, 2018, Installation View
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Rachel Grobstein, Space Junk II (Atmosphere), 2018, gouache, paper, pins, 7.5 x 9.5 x 2 i
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Jed), 2017, gouache, paper, clay, acetate, balsa wood, 2.4 x 3.6 i
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Margaret), 2017, gouache, balsa wood, clay, acetate, 1.75 x 1.25 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Canis Major (Dog Days), 2017, gouache, paper, pins, 8.5 x 12 x 2 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Farrah II), 2018, gouache, paper, clay, mirror, fabric, cotton, 3.9 x 4.75 x 1.1 in
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Joe), 2017, gouache, balsa wood, clay, 1.75 x 1.75 x 1.2 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Julie A), 2017, gouache, clay, fabric, 2.3 x 2.5 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Kyle), 2017, gouache, paper, balsa wood, clay, tissue, acetate, 3.1 x 4.5 x 2.75 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Lauren), 2017, gouache, wire, paper, clay, acetate, 2.2 x 2.2 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Lea), 2017, gouache, paper, thread, clay, 2.8 x 3.1 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Nina and Margaret), 2017, gouache, clay, 2.5 x 2.2 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Valli), 2018, gouache, paper, clay, balsa wood, tissue, thread, 2.9 x 5.6 x 1.4 in.
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Rachel Grobstein, Zodiac II, 2017, gouache, paper, pins, 8 x 6.75 x 1.5 in

Exhibition Text

(PDF)

ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce Infra-ordinary, a solo exhibition by Rachel Grobstein in Gallery Two.

Chicago, IL, June 9, 2018- ANDREW RAFACZ continues 2018 with Infra-ordinary, a solo exhibition of works by New York-based artist Rachel Grobstein. The exhibition continues through Saturday, July 21, 2018.

Rachel Grobstein creates miniature paintings and sculptures, filtering real world objects through a painstaking handmade process while inviting close scrutiny through a radical scale shift. Her recent works take the form of accumulations and visual inventories in both real and imagined categories. Cut from paper and installed directly onto the wall with pins, Grobstein’s groupings of miniature gouache paintings reference the cataloguing of natural specimens while creating architecture of shadows. They articulate themes of space junk, zodiac charts and the mythology of the constellations to explore daily routine and consumer detritus.

Grobstein’s miniature sculptures engage with the tradition of still life, cataloguing a daily world and connecting personal history and consumer culture. Her long interest in how one’s collections create snapshot biographies led her to a fascination with the wide array of objects kept on bedside tables; where tissues and the day’s receipts are collected alongside souvenirs, prescription bottles, cherished mementos, and personal sundries. Upon asking her friends and colleagues for pictures of their nightstands, Grobstein recreates their possessions as miniature tableaus. These unique bedside amalgams speak to universal themes, from memory and self care to sexual identity and dream life.

RACHEL GROBSTEIN (American, b. 1984) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She completed a B.A. in Philosophy and Studio Arts from Bowdoin College in 2006 and a M.F.A. in Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013. Rachel Grobstein has had solo exhibitions at This Friday or Next Friday (Brooklyn, NY), and Roswell Museum and Art Center (Roswell, NM). Recent group exhibitions include Arcilesi & Homberg Fine Art (Brooklyn, NY), Milton J. Weill Art Gallery (New York, NY), and David & Schewitzer Contemporary (Brooklyn, NY). This is her first solo exhibition with the gallery.