Reform
September 17 - October 16, 2021
ENGAGE Projects is pleased to present Reform, a show with Jean Alexander Frater.
ENGAGE Projects is pleased to present Reform, a new body of work from Jean Alexander Frater. Reform builds upon the artist’s varying expressions of continuous change. While her recent series of works Out of My Head addressed the rectangular support, gesture, and frame, the Reform paintings introduce a new process of wrapping the frame, producing an ongoing resurfacing, allowing for new forms to emerge. Central to this body of work is the studio process of working with the limited materials of traditional painting to discover how the rectangle or square can be reformed into new shapes that are no longer defined by itself. Alexander Frater produces an interplay between the form that is integrated on the piece, beside it, and within it. The paintings are built from torn strips of large color field paintings and as the canvas is torn, the colors painted underneath resurface. Through a conversation between the rectangle and the color field, they are transformed. Alexander Frater engages in a careful examination of the materials and undergoes a process of understanding them through construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. Reform is a shape that points to movement and change, and it is newly defined as it is made. The paintings are heavy, as they have been scaled down and condensed into fractions of themselves. The weight and physicality of these works relate to gravity, the body, to labor and intention. Each painting in this series confronts the viewer, encouraging them to move around and experience the work in different lights and in new ways.
Dune Droplet, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
51 x 41 in 129.5 x 104 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
51 x 41 in 129.5 x 104 cm
Over the Falls, 2020
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
48 x 48 in 121.9 x 121.9 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
48 x 48 in 121.9 x 121.9 cm
Moss Desert, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
35 x 36 in 88.9 x 91.4 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
35 x 36 in 88.9 x 91.4 cm
Citrine Ground Stones, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
41 x 29 in 104 x 73.7 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
41 x 29 in 104 x 73.7 cm
Creamsicle, 2021
acrylic and latex paint on canvas then torn and woven 15 x 14 in 38 x 35.6 cm 
Crawl space, 2020
acrylic, latex, and varnish on torn canvas 12 x 12 in 30.5 x 30.5 cm |
Hidden sleeve, 2021
acrylic and latex paint on canvas then torn and woven 18 x 18 in 45.7 x 45.7 cm 
Baroque Folds, 2018
acrylic paint on torn canvas 11 in x 10 in 27.9 x 25.4 cm |
Sapphire Construction, 2018
acrylic paint on torn canvas 10 x 10 in 25.4 x 25.4 cm |
Pink Sun, 2019
acrylic paint on torn canvas 10 x 10 in 25.4 x 25.4 cm |
Sore geometry, 2017
acrylic, latex and varnish on canvas then torn 10.5 x 10.5 in 26.7 x 26.7 cm |
Tickle me, 2020
acrylic, latex and varnish on canvas then torn |
Pink Saucy Strangebody, 2019
acrylic, latex and varnish on torn canvas
67 x 64 in 170.2 x 162.6 cm
acrylic, latex and varnish on torn canvas
67 x 64 in 170.2 x 162.6 cm
Injury Drain, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
52 x 41 in 132 x 104 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
52 x 41 in 132 x 104 cm
Succulent Skin, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
53 x 53 in 134.6 x 134.6 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
53 x 53 in 134.6 x 134.6 cm
Swagger, 2020
acrylic, latex and varnish on canvas then torn
37 x 25 in 94 x 63.5 cm
acrylic, latex and varnish on canvas then torn
37 x 25 in 94 x 63.5 cm
Column Dress, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn
144 x 29 in 365.7 x 73.7 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn
144 x 29 in 365.7 x 73.7 cm
Sea Drip, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
42 x 26 in 106.7 x 66 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
42 x 26 in 106.7 x 66 cm
Killer Placebo, 2021
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
43 x 51 in 109.2 x 129.5 cm
acrylic, latex, varnish on canvas then torn and woven
43 x 51 in 109.2 x 129.5 cm
