Nicholas Fraser
I create installations, videos and sculpture.
My projects grapple with the mutability of texts, exploring our compulsion to communicate and mining the gap between intention and perception.
I mix the mundane and the poetic, the historic and the contemporary in an effort to make viewers aware of their position in a wider continuum.
My materials are often ephemeral or delicate, shifting under one’s feet, subject to continual change and degradation. Legibility is momentary, prone to dissolve with time or a shift in position, echoing the way any message’s reception inevitably mutates.
Biography:
Nicholas Fraser's newest project, Left Hanging, was featured in the Spring/Break Art Fair and 2017 Chashama Gala, as well as i solo exhibitions at Installation Space in North Adams, MA in 2020 and Hofstra University's Rosenberg Gallery in 2016. All Consuming, a public sited sculpture, was commissioned for Randall's Island in 2015, the same year he participated in the Bronx Museum's AIM program. His video Follow was featured in the Museum's 2015 AIM Biennale. A solo exhibition of his work was on view at York College/CUNY during February of 2015. He was awarded a 2014 NYFA Fellowship for his ongoing video project Fronts.
Other recent projects include Ground Rules, for the 2nd Ural Industrial Biennale and installations for the Art Prospect Festival in St. Petersburg. Recent exhibitions include JCAL's JFLUX Festival and No Longer Empty's Jameco Exchange, both in Jamaica, Queens.
Fraser has completed residencies at Skowhegan, Art Omi, Sculpture Space, LMCC’s SwingSpace and was a BRIC Media Fellow in 2012. He'll be a resident at the Studios at MASS MoCA during the summer of 2019.
He's exhibited work at the Drawing Center, Interstate Projects, Dorsky Gallery, Flux Factory, Bronx Art Space, Art in Odd Places, La Mama La Galeria, Jack the Pelican and Taller Boricua. His work has been shown in Paris, Seoul, Toronto, Cuba and Germany.
He earned his BFA at the Atlanta College of Art and his MFA at the School of Visual Art.
Born in the U.K., he lives in Brooklyn.
CV:
Residencies/Fellowships/Curated Programs
2019 The Studios at MASS MoCA AIR, North Adams, MA
2016 Art Omi Residency, Ghent, NY
2015 Bronx Museum AIM Program, Bronx, NY
2014 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Digital/Electronic Media
2012 BRIC Media Fellowship, Brooklyn, NY
Sculpture Space Residency, Utica NY
Artist-in-Residence program of the 2nd Ural Industrial Biennial, Ekaterinburg & Nizhny Tagil, Russia
2011 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Swing Space Studio Residency on Governors Island, New York
Education
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
MFA, School of Visual Art, New York, NY
BFA, Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, GA, Summa Cum Laude, Sculpture and Painting
Projects/Public Works/Exhibitions
2022 Masked Vigilantes on Silent Motorbikes – Poster House Museum, NY
Curated by RJ Rushmore
Follow/Unfollow – Drive Thru outdoor video festival – The Plaza at 300 Ashland, BAM, Brooklyn
Curated by Soft-Firm
2020 Left Hanging & Fronts – Installation Space – North Adams, MA – solo show
Writing Home – 2nd Southeast Queens Biennial – York College (CUNY) Fine Arts Gallery – Jamaica, NY
Curated by Molaundo Jones and Margaret Vendryes
2019 Distance – Works on Paper by Skowhegan Alumni – Dorsky Gallery, LIC, NY
Curated by Betsy Alwin and Steve Locke
2018 THERE IS NO THREAT – One night show at 145 Chamber St #2, NY, NY.
Curated by Ashley Middleton
Night Regulation / Storytelling in the Land of Text, Identity and Pictures – Radiator Gallery, LIC, NY
2017 You Are Here NYC: Art, Information,and Mapping – Pratt Manhattan Gallery
Digital Profiling – The Media Center, Brooklyn, NY
Those Who Can Do, York Faculty Show – York College (CUNY) Fine Arts Gallery &
Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning – Jamaica, NY
Spring/Break Art Show – Chashama Booth – Times Square, NY
2016 Left Hanging – Rosenberg Gallery, Hofstra University – solo show
Jameco Exchange – No Longer Empty – Jamaica, NY curated by Rachel Gugelberger
sited video installation in a Jamaica storefront
Jamaica Flux: Workspaces & Windows – Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning – Jamaica, NY
curated by Heng-Gil Han and Kalia Brooks
BRURAL: Crossroads of Equality and Irregularity – Brooklyn Fire Proof Temporary Storage Gallery
curated by Ilya Shipilovskikh and Irina Danilova
Ars Nova – Chashama/Tabla Rasa Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Recall: 2015 – Art in Odd Places – New York, NY
curated by Sara Reisman and Kendal Henry
All Consuming – sited installation for FLOW.15 Outdoor Art Exhibit on Randall's Island, NY
Bronx Calling: Third AIM Biennial – Bronx Museum, NY
We Are Creating a Secure Connection, York College (CUNY) Fine Arts Gallery, Jamaica, NY – solo show
2014 The Intuitionist – Drawing Center, New York, NY.
curated by Heather Hart, Steffani Jemison and Jina Valentine
VECTOR Issue 3 – 10 page project for a literary/arts journal.
Featured at Interstate Projects, Brooklyn, NY
SP Weather Reports – Annual 12 artist portfolio of work based on one month’s weather data.
Exhibited at Center for Book Arts, Flux Factory, Queens,
Shifting Communities at Bronx Art Space and StudioPlace Arts, Barre, VT.
2012 Ground Rules-The 2nd Ural Industrial Biennial – Ekaterinburg & Nizhny Tagil, Russia
Nevsky Prospekt & Animal Behavior, site specific installations,
Art Prospect Festival – St Petersburg, Russia.
2011 7th Annual PixelPops Video Show – Gallery Nouvel Organon, Paris.
FIVAC International Festival of Video Art – Camagüey, Cuba.
Branding Projects #1-3 – Site specific alterations, Governors Island. New York, NY.
30 fire-branded tree stumps on the grounds near Ft Jay – Ongoing.
Extra Limb – A site specific installation in a former munitions warehouse,
Governors Island. New York, NY.
Mixed Messages – La Mama La Galeria, New York, NY – curated by John Chaich
Videos on the Front – Interstate Projects, Brooklyn, NY
2010 See What I Mean – Taller Boricua, New York, NY – curated by Marcos Dimas & Christine Licata
Self Destructing Art Show – Flux Factory, Queens, NY
Giguk Video Art Festival – Gießen, Germany
Videophagy / Videofagia – Function13 & Hotshot Gallery, Toronto – curated by e-fagia collective
Escape From New York – Paterson, NJ – curated by Olympia Lambert
CONVERSIONs, I’m Caught up... – BronxArtSpace, Bronx, NY – curated by Melissa A. Calderón
Give Me a Minute – The Shirey, Brooklyn, NY – curated by Amber Boardman
2009 Unfixed/Unfixable – Art in Odd Places (numerous sites on 14th Street) – New York, NY –
curated by Erin Donnelly and Radhika Subramaniam
A Very Loud Silence – Le Flash Festival, Atlanta, GA – curated by Avantika Bawa
A Minus Suitcase – Brain Factory, Seoul
2008 A Minus Suitcase – Jack the Pelican Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Boundaries and Left and Leaving – School of Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY
Color Commentary – Performance/installation, SVA MFA Studios, New York, NY
A Number of Things – MFA Thesis Show, SVA Gallery, New York, NY
2007 CAA MFA Exhibition – Hunter College/Times Square Gallery, New York, NY
Immediate Release – Guerilla action and website, 34 Chelsea galleries, New York, NY
This Is Berlin Not New York – curated by Lifebomb, Mastul e.V., Berlin
2006 Touchy Feely, New Work – Gallery Sklo, Atlanta, GA – solo show
Invisible Devices – Site specific installations in subway stations, New York, NY
2006 Assemblation – Eyedrum Gallery, Atlanta, GA – curated by Karen Tauches
2005 Touchpoint, the Corporate Show – Eyedrum Gallery, Atlanta, GA
New Sculpture Preview – Gallery Sklo, Atlanta, GA
2000 Sculpture by Nicholas J. Fraser, Jr. – Flatiron Gallery, Atlanta, GA – solo show
.
Lectures/Visiting Artist/Panel Discussions
2015 Visiting Artist Lecture, School of Visual Art MFA Program, New York, NY
Visiting Artist Class Lecture, New School at Parsons, New York, NY. Professor Nina Frenkel
Artist Presentation, York College/CUNY, Jamaica, NY
2014 Spontaneous Interventions, Art in Odd Places, Governors Island, Panelist
2012 Artist Presentation, Yekaterinburg College of Engineering, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Visiting Artist lecture of "Ground Rules", Ural College of Art and Design, Nizhny Tagil, Russia
2012 Quiet Infusion: Public Performances and the Performing Public, lecture and panelist,
Symposium of the Biennial, 2nd Ural Industrial Biennale, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Art in the Urban Environment: New Forms of Community, Panelist, Etazhi, St Petersburg
Sculpture Space Resident Artist Visit and Lecture, Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, NY
Selected Bibliography
2016 Going to (Jamaica) Queens: An Old Rapper Hangout Gets an Art-World Assist
Villiage Voice, June 14, 2016, Siddhartha Mitter
No Longer Empty Invigorates Jamaica, NYC’s Art Scene With Jameco Exchange,
Untappedcities.com, June 24, 2016, Jenna Bagcal
Jamaica arts exhibition celebrates temporary run, TimesLedger.com, Patrick Donachie, July 14, 2016
Editors’ Picks: 6 Art Events to See in New York This Week, Artnet.com, May 23, 2016, Rain Embuscado
From Brooklyn to Russia’s Ural Region, Artists Cross Political and Geographic Borders
Hyperallergic.com, March 1, 2016
2015 Art in Odd Places Revisits a Decade of Fleeting Experiences
Hyperallergic.com, October 12, 2015
Bronx Museum Showcases (and Helps) Emerging Artists – New York Times, July 10, 2015
Emerging Artists Take the Bronx – Time Out New York, July 15, 2015
2014 Story Lines: “The Intuitionists” at the Drawing Center
Hyperallergic.com, Thomas Micchelli, July 19, 2014
The Intuitionists and ‘Small'
New York Times, Ken Johnson, July 31, 2014
The Intuitionists
The New Yorker, August 4 , 2014
2012 The Culture Industry – Scene & Herd, Artforum.com,
Kate Sutton, October 3, 2012
American Artists Learn Petersburg – Voice of America.ru,
Anna Plotnikova, September 23, 2012
Baseball in Tagil – Channel 4,
Yekaterinburg, Russia, September 12 , 2012
Festival 'Art Prospect' – Time Out: Moscow,
Anna Matveeva, September 10, 2012
2011 MIXED MESSAGES’: ‘A(I)DS, Art + Words – New York Times,
Holland Cotter, June 23, 2011
Critic’s Pick – Artforum.com, Ara H. Merjian, June 26, 2011
Clarity through mixed messages – Chelsea Now, Lily Bouvier, June 15, 2011
2010 Escape from New York – NYC Art Blog,
Chris Rywalt, May 20, 2010, (http://www.crywalt.com/blog/2010/05/ escape-from-new-york.html)
NYC in Paterson, N.J.: Escape from New York, C-Monster Blog, C-Monster, May 17, 2010,
(http://c-monster.net/blog1/2010/05/17/nyc-int-paterson/)
"Why We Should Ditch Manhattan’s Art Scene and Head to New Jersey",
Runnin’ Scared Blog on VillageVoice.com, Araceli Cruz, May 14, 2010,
(http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/05/qa_art_curator.php )
Interview: Nicholas Fraser, The New Noise Blog, Emily Cameron & Patrick Taylor,
(http://thenewnoise.org/?p=56 ), February 1, 2010.
Art Uncovered-Interview, Break Thru Radio with DJ Piera
(http://www.breakthruradio.com/index.php?show=9174).
2009 Tea for Two at Art in Odd Places, TimeOutNY.com, October 8, 2009.
(http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/tonyblog/2009/10/tea-for-two-at-art-in-odd-places/).
Memories of Daily Life in Now Empty Storefonts, EV Grieve Blog, September 14, 2009
(http://evgrieve.com/2009/09/memories-of-daily-life-in-now-empty.html).
.
2008 Artist of 2:29 PM, TryHarder Blog, August 29, 2008
(http://try-har-der.blogspot.com/2008/08/artist-of-229-pm-nicholas-fraser.html),
.
2007 Dear Nicholas Fraser, Olympia Lambert, Oly’s Musings Blog, October 25, 2007.
(http://lamgelinaoly.blogspot.com/)
2006 Finding Answers, Jerry Cullum, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 24, 2006.
Assembly Required, Jerry Cullum, Access Atlanta - December 28, 2006.
2005 Is it Art?, Creative Loafing, November 30, 2005.
Awards & Honors
President’s Award, Atlanta College of Art.
Dean’s Award, Atlanta College of Art.
Gene Alcott Memorial Scholarship.
CGR Advisors Scholarship.
Nominated for Yale Summer School of Art.
Juror’s Award for Sculpture, Atlanta College of Art,
Juried Student Exhibition.
Academic/Teaching Work
2014-present York College Fine Arts Department, Jamaica NY.
Adjunct Professor, Fine Arts Gallery and Studio Manager
Collections
The Center for Book Arts
Nevada Museum of Art Center for Art + Environment Archives Collections
University of Michigan Library, School of Art & Design Collection
Virginia Commonwealth University Library