Denny Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Nadja Frank with contributing work by Jessica Segall on view in the Project Gallery, from October 26 – December 7, 2014.

In Rock Shop III, Nadja Frank explores both the macro and micro elements of the geological material she worked with in Rock Shop, her first solo exhibition at Denny Gallery in 2013, and Rock Shop II, her second installment of the exhibition series shown earlier in 2014 in Hamburg, Germany.

Rock Shop III marks a continuation of Frank’s lithological investigations pertaining to found material from her travels. In her “Rock Portraits”- screen-printed images of rocks found, bought and gifted – she magnifies the elemental components of the vast global landscapes she has travelled through so extensively. The visual effect of screen printing serves to emphasize the atomic structure of each individual form, shaped through time and context. These elements are also referenced in the sculptures in the exhibition, where the evolution of landscapes through salt crystallization shows the slow shifting structure of the mineral, from small man-made grains to liquid to crystals. These sculptures affirm the process and temporality of Frank’s work. She acts as “parent” to the sculptures, instigating and forming the artworks, which are then left to grow and develop their own visual narratives.

The sense of magic in the natural formation of these rocks and crystals is intrinsic to Frank’s relationship to her work. Within this context, Frank has selected the work of Jessica Segall for simultaneous exhibition in the project gallery. Segall’s practice encompasses drawing, sculpture, video and performance. Segall’s relationship to scientific research and its histories has steered her toward early manuals where science is closely related to magic, alchemy and creation. Vade Mecum #3, the meticulously transcribed and enlarged title page of one such manual, serves to watch over Frank’s incipient, maturing sculptures, rooting them in a history loaded with mystery, intrigue and scientific discovery.

Nadja Frank was born in 1980 in Lohr am Main, Germany, and lives in New York City. She received her Diploma in Fine Arts with Honors from Hochschule fur bildende Künste in Hamburg, Germany in 2008, and her M.F.A. from Columbia University in 2011. Frank has exhibited internationally in solo exhibitions at 401contemporary Berlin/London (Berlin), Margini Arte Contemporanea (Massa, Italy), Galerie Conradi (Hamburg), and in group exhibitions at Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Bonn), Kunstverein Hamburg, Kolbe Museum (Berlin), Chelsea Art Museum (New York), and Socrates Sculpture Park (New York).

Jessica Segall was born in 1978 in Illinois and lives in New York City. She received her B.A. from Bard College in 2000 and her M.F.A. from Columbia University in 2010. Segall’s work has been exhibited at the 10th Havana Biennial, The National Gallery of Indonesia, The Queens Museum of Art, the Aldrich Museum, The Inside Out Museum in Beijing and The National Modern Art Gallery of Mongolia. She is the recipient of grants including Art Matters, the Leighton International Artist Exchange Program, an Arts and Science grant from Chicago University and The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Jessica Segall attended artist residencies at Skowhegan, The MacDowell Colony, Sculpture Space, Kuenstledorf Schoppingen, Art OMI, Bemis, SOMA, Triangle Arts and Socrates Sculpture Park.