ROBERT BURNIER (American, b. 1969) lives and works in Chicago, IL. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2016 and his BS in Computer Science from the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in 1991. Residencies include The Ragdale Foundation for the Arts, and he was the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2025. Solo exhibitions include ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), Corvi-Mora (London, UK), blank projects (Cape Town, SA), Massey Klein Gallery (New York, NY), David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, CO), and The Arts Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL). Group exhibitions include the Astrup Fearnly Museum (Oslo, Norway), Schneider Museum of Art (Ashland, OR), Secrist Beach (Chicago, IL), Brintz + County (Palm Beach, FL), ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art at the University of Southern Indiana (Evansville, IN), Corvi-Mora (London, UK), Vacation (New York, NY), Korn Gallery at Drew University (Madison, NJ), The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL), and Elmhurst Art Museum (Elmhurst, IL). Burnier’s large-scale installation Black Tiberinus was on view on Chicago’s riverfront 2018-2019. He has exhibited at art fairs in Chicago, Copenhagen, London, Mexico City, Milan, Miami, New York, and Toronto. His work has been written about in many publications, including Chicago Tribune, Art Forum, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, and Artnet. Burnier currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL). His work is included in numerous public and private collections.

MELISSA LEANDRO (American, b. 1989) lives and works in Chicago, IL. She received her MFA in 2017 and her BFA in 2012, both from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Residencies include The Vermont Studio Center, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Ragdale Foundation, The Jacquard Center, and the Weaving Mill and she was the recipient of the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation Artadia Award in 2021. Solo exhibitions include ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), Waubonsee Community College (Waubonsee, IL), and the University of Nebraska (Omaha, NE). Group exhibitions include Gardner Center for the Arts (Gary, IN), ANDREW RAFACZ (Chicago, IL), South Shore Arts (Munster, IN), Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (Chicago, IL), The Peeler Art Center, DePaul University (Chicago, IL), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL), Soho House (Chicago IL), Dunedin Fine Art Center (Dunedin, FL), Kent State University Galleries (Kent, OH), Pentimenti Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), and The Arts Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL). She has exhibited at art fairs in Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, and Toronto. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections.