View our Frieze NY Viewing Room Presentation here.

ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce participation in Frieze NY Viewing Room, presenting works by Julia Bland, Zachary Buchner, Robert Burnier, Cody Hudson, Melissa Leandro, Krystle Lemonias, and Soumya Netrabile. The virtual fair will run from May 5-14, 2021 and concurrently with the in-person Frieze NY.

The gallery presents a diverse range of voices while also representing many of the gallery’s most central concerns that have developed over the last decade—- a focus on unique material approaches (such as aluminum wall sculpture, dyed memory foam, and stretched or collaged textile), form as way to a larger poetic conceit; and an examination of nature, identity, community and sovereignty in our contemporary world.

JULIA BLAND creates textile-based works that incorporate painting and weaving, developing the structures and patterns that bind disparate elements into a whole. While the compositions present structures that imply pure or timeless forms, color and materiality evoke an embodied visual experience. Through weaving, cutting, sewing, dying, and painting, the surface becomes a visible record of her evolving, multi-faceted process. We present several recent works that gather these many approaches into stunning, singular forms, for Frieze NY 2021.

ROBERT BURNIER’s new wall-based works continue his practice of folding, bending and crushing aluminum to reach new plateaus of transformation. For the artist, each form is an expression, but also a history. These uniquely formed objects are altered further by color that revisits and revises his preceding choices. For these newest works, his palette is inspired by ancient ceramics in Africa and Mesopotamia, sourced and interpreted as Burnier reports, ‘not from nostalgia but an appreciation of difference that might be as far removed from now as the distant future is.’ We present a series of his new wall sculptures for Frieze NY 2021.

Exploring the material possibilities and expanding the field of painting has been at the root of ZACHARY BUCHNER’s practice for the past decade. He is interested in mining a social landscape built on complex systems of connectivity and isolation in an attempt to better understand the contingencies of contemporary experience and space. His current body of work utilizing both additive and subtractive processes, soft and rigid plastics, deploys a shallow illusionism, a backlit glow, and overlapping translucent layers that suggest our omnipresent digital field. Replacing the open browser windows, guides and grids of our digital lives with physical materials that remind us through frontality, reflection, and scale, of our own bodies. We present a series of his new wall-hanging works for Frieze NY 2021.

CODY HUDSON has been steadily building a body of paintings and sculptures over the last few years that continue to mine the natural world but subtly remix the visual results to add new layers of a more intentional and transcendent poetic visual space. They are informed as much by the artist’s inner reflections as they are his external environs, embracing a strong sense of narrative while remaining compositionally mysterious. With peculiar hovering and overlapping shapes and inverted or cropped symbols, they hint at a deeper phenomenological approach to looking. They are colorful, multi-layered visual recollections of the artist’s own personal experiences. We present several new paintings and sculptures for Frieze NY 2021.

KRYSTLE LEMONIAS creates intricate portraits of persons in immigrant black communities– both documented and undocumented– that have contributed richly to the United States’ cultural diversity and workforce, despite the systemic inequalities they face. Her tapestry-like works, combining collage, sewing, and printmaking, explore these women’s work as domestic laborers who play an integral role in the function of our society. Through her practice, Lemonias addresses the social complexities with regard to class, citizenship, economic inequity, commodification, and labor rights. By incorporating baby clothes worn by the children Lemonias’ mother cares for into the work, the artist communicates the untold stories of her mother’s experiences as a nanny. We present several new works for Frieze NY 2021.

MELISSA LEANDRO’s practice has always extended beyond the studio and her loom. Her vibrantly detailed and richly layered textile works created from an amalgam of processes including Jacquard weaving, embroidery, dip dyeing, stitching, bleaching, foil application and cyanotype, have a strong reference to the places she has visited or occupied. They weave together depictions of the external landscapes she observes and her own interior reflections on those experiences. Leandro absorbs the energy and movement in the environment she is in, layering her textiles to evoke the dynamics of that specific place and her own emotional response. The results are a combination of representational imagery and rich poetic abstraction, marking time and those observed moments, while hinting at a larger narrative. The artist’s newest works are an emotional record of her experiences with her family and their collective interpersonal struggles, intensified by her inability to travel to them. We present a series of new textile wall works for Frieze NY 2021.

SOUMYA NETRABILE’s long-time fascination with landscape and nature has moved more specifically this past year to botanic environments. Gardens and the forest have become a comfortable setting to further explore her ideas of picture making. Plants and forests have always been of keen interest to the artist, especially because of how they signified as important devices or settings in the many myths and stories she has loved. Experimenting with plant forms has allowed her to directly explore her inclinations with paint, color, and gesture. Much of the artist’s recent work is rooted in actual experiences and interactions in nature, but constructed from memory and imagination in her studio. We present a series of her new paintings for Frieze NY 2021.

JULIA BLAND (American, b. 1986) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Bland received her BFA from RISD in 2008 and her MFA from The Yale School of Art in 2012. She has been an artist in residence at The Macdowell Colony, Yaddo, The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Lighthouse Works, The Sharpe-Walentas Space Program, The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, and The Shandaken Project: Storm King. She has received awards including The Milton and Sally Avery Fellowship from Yaddo, The Carol Scholsberg Memorial Prize, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust Travel Fellowship, and The Florence Leif Award for Excellence in Painting. Recent solo exhibitions include Derek Eller Gallery (New York, NY), ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), The Lighthouse Works (Fisher’s Island, NY), Helena Anrather (New York, NY), Miller Contemporary & Stellar Projects (New York, NY), and On Stellar Rays (New York, NY), John Michael Kohler Art Center (Sheboygan, WI). Recent group exhibitions include John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI), Yossi Milo (New York, NY), TSA (Philadelphia, PA), September Gallery (Hudson, NY), Dimensions Variable (Miami, FL), On Stellar Rays (New York, NY), NYU Institute of Fine Arts (New York, NY), Cuevas Tilleard (New York, NY), Ortega y Gasset (Brooklyn, NY), and CES Gallery (Los Angeles, CA). She will be included in a group exhibition at the Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY) in 2021.

ZACHARY BUCHNER (Canadian, b. 1979) lives and works in Oak Park IL. Buchner received a BFA from Bowling Green State University in 2001 and an MFA from Northwestern University in 2005. Zachary Buchner has had solo exhibitions at Monaco Gallery (St. Louis, MO), Gallery 400 at The University of Illinois (Chicago, IL), and Laramie County College (Cheyanna, MY). Recent group exhibitions include Neuer Aachener Kunstverein (Aachen, Germany), Heaven Gallery (Chicago, IL), Soccer Club Club (Chicago, IL), Circle Contemporary (Chicago, IL), the Fine Arts Center at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH), and Elder Gallery at Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, NE). He has exhibited at art fairs in Chicago and Miami. Buchner will have a solo exhibition at ANDREW RAFACZ in 2021 this spring.

ROBERT BURNIER (American, b. 1969) lives and works in Chicago, IL. Burnier received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2016 and a BS in Computer Science from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in 1991. Recent solo exhibitions include ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), The Arts Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL), and Elastic Arts (Chicago, IL). Recent group exhibitions include David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, CO), LVL3 Gallery (Chicago, IL), Vacation (New York, NY), Korn Gallery at Drew University (Madison, NJ), Mana Contemporary (Chicago, IL), The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL), and Elmhurst Art Museum (Elmhurst, IL). Independent Curators International commissioned a series of works that were presented at NADA Miami (2014) and NADA New York (2015) respectively. His large-scale installation Black Tiberinus on Chicago’s riverfront was unveiled in 2018. Burnier has exhibited at art fairs in Chicago, Miami, New York, Mexico City, and Copenhagen. He will be included in group exhibitions at Massey Klein Gallery (New York, NY) and Corvi-Mora (London, UK), and will have a solo exhibition at David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, CO) in 2021.

CODY HUDSON (American, b. 1971) lives and works in Chicago. He has presented numerous site-specific installations across the globe including in Santa Monica, Seoul, Nantes, Chicago, Bangkok, and Dresden, creating landmark murals for the Nike World Headquarters and Illumination Studios. Recent solo exhibitions include David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, CO), The Holdout (Evora de Alcobaca, Portugal), Primary (Miami, FL), mini galerie (Amsterdam, Netherlands), ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), Left Field (San Luis Obispo, CA), HVW8 (Berlin, Germany), and V1 Gallery (Copenhagen, Denmark). Recent group exhibitions include Somerset House (London, UK), De School (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich (Zürich, Switzerland), Paradigm Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Amala Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), Joshua Liner Gallery (New York, NY), Chicago Design Museum (Chicago, IL), Guerrero Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Lamington Drive (Collingwood, Australia), and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (Grand Rapids, MI). Hudson has been exhibited widely at art fairs in Chicago, Rotterdam, Miami, and Copenhagen.

MELISSA LEANDRO (American, b. 1989) lives and works in Chicago, IL. Leandro received an MFA in 2017 and a BFA in 2012, both from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been an artist in residence at The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Ragdale Foundation, The Jacquard Center, Chicago Artist Coalition, and The Weaving Mill. She has received awards including the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship from the Center for Craft, the Craft Fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council, and is currently a 2021 Chicago Artadia Awards Finalist. Recent solo exhibitions include ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), The University Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Union League Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Rockford University (Rockford, IL) and the Wright Museum of Art (Beloit, WI). Recent group exhibitions include DePaul Art Museum (Chicago, IL), MCC Art Gallery (Mesa, AZ), Monaco Gallery (St.Louis, MO), Mana Contemporary (Chicago, IL), Heaven Gallery (Chicago, IL), Hyde Park Arts Center (Chicago, IL), Tile Blush Gallery (Miami, FL), La Esquina Gallery (Kansas City, MO), and The Central Museum of Textiles (Łódź, Poland). In 2020 Leandro was curated by Julie Rodrigues Widholm to present a solo project with ANDRW RAFACZ at Frieze Viewing Room for the Chicago Tribute presentation.

SOUMYA NETRABILE (American, born 1966 in Bangalore, India) lives and works in Chicago, IL. Netrabile received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BSEE in engineering from Rutgers University. She has had recent solo exhibitions at Pt.2 Gallery (Oakland, CA) and Terra Incognito (Oak Park, IL). Recent group exhibitions include Trinta Gallery (Santiago de Compostela, Spain), PRACTISE (Oak Park, IL), Karma Gallery (New York, NY), Sidney Larson Gallery (Columbia, MO), Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI), Blue Ash Gallery at the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH), and Lurie Center Gallery at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL). She will have a solo exhibition at ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL) in 2021.

KRYSTLE LEMONIAS (Jamaican, b. 1989) lives and works in Tampa, FL. Lemonias received a BFA in printmaking from New Jersey City University in 2018 and is currently a MFA candidate at the University of South Florida, anticipating graduation in Spring 2022. She was a finalist for the AXA Art Prize in 2020 and the XI Catlin Art Prize in 2018. Recent group exhibitions include Blum and Poe (Los Angeles, CA), Contemporary Art Center New Orleans (New Orleans, LA), Morean Art Center (Tampa, FL), San Jacinto College (Pasadena, TX), International Print Center of New York (New York, NY), BSB Gallery (Trenton, NJ), and the New York Academy of Art (New York, NY). She will have a solo exhibition at ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL) in 2022.