Upstairs Gallery: Shani Strand & Orlando Estrada: Procession

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Orlando Estrada & Shani Strand 
Procession
 
March 8 - April 29, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, March 8, 6 - 8pm

Rachel Uffner Gallery is pleased to present Procession; a two artist exhibition of new works by Orlando Estrada and Shani Strand. Employing dynamic sculptural techniques, both Estrada and Strand share a commitment to unraveling the intricacies of human experience, while exploring profound themes of violence, colonialism, religion, mysticism. The show unfolds as a convergence of their diverse perspectives, challenging preconceptions and inviting viewers to contemplate the complexities of our shared existence.

Los Angeles-based artist Shani Strand examines histories of violence within the context of the Black diaspora, the Caribbean diaspora, and, more specifically, the Jamaican diaspora. Strand employs three primary figures—duppies, the badman, and demons—to scrutinize the complex dimensions of violence, including its epistemologies, ethics, aesthetics, circulation, and commodification. By doing so Strand initiates a conversation among these figures, seeking to bridge gaps between Jamaican folklore, deviant behavior, and theology. 

A central theme in Strand’s practice revolves around the concept of ungovernability, questioning established notions of social propriety and morality. In a new series of ceramics created for Procession, Strand draws inspiration from various Hieronymous Bosch paintings, particularly "The Last Judgment" (1482) and the right panel in "The Garden of Earthly Delights" (1490-1500), intended as a depiction of hell. Exploring rebel angels, fallen angels, and the making of demons, Strand goes beyond the traditional narrative of succumbing to evil. Her focus lies in the "evil" of rebelling angels, cast out for banding together outside the rules and hierarchies of heaven.

In addition, Strand presents an installation of contorted angel figures atop pedestals as well as a larger scale duppy sculpture, eating broken teeth.

Orlando Estrada, based in Brooklyn, NY, engages with the concepts of post naturalism, identity, and the human condition. Estrada's practice spans sculpture, drawing, painting, and installation, as he meticulously analyzes societal metanarratives through the lenses of queer theory, mysticism, and science fiction. Having spent his childhood in the otherworldly setting of a military base on the coastal cliffs of Puerto Rico, Estrada's move to Miami during his teens ignited a fascination with the relationship between humans and the natural world. This connection serves as a foundational inspiration for his ongoing series of sculptural landscapes, depicting dreamlike worlds that seamlessly blend natural and synthetic materials.

For Procession, Estrada introduces 4 new wall-mounted sculptures using innovative material vocabularies which include consumer waste such as cardboard packaging and silicon computer chips, natural fibers such as bone and clay, and 3D printed elements of the artist’s design. Referred to as Terrains, these new works take the form of horses in silhouette - an ancient icon interpreted by the artist to symbolize power, freedom and divine balance between masculine and feminine energies. Each serves as a horizon on which Estrada creates poetic vignettes depicting four different realms; Commerce, Nature, the Domestic/Ritual and Chance. These works collectively expand upon Estrada’s exploration of shifting notions of the gothic within the context of the contemporary world.

Shani Strand (b. 1995) is a Los Angeles-based, multidisciplinary artist exploring themes such as colonialism, violence, and theology through dynamic installation projects. Strand has recently exhibited in Walk Good, Act Bad (Deli, Mexico City); daydreaming pressed against a fence (Harkawik, Los Angeles); Extra Terrestrial (Rachel Uffner, New York); A Gathering (HOUSING, New York); and 100% Salt (HOUSING, New York). She has performed with Miho Hatori at The Broad (Los Angeles, 2022), and held residencies at Automata (Los Angeles) and Interstate Projects (Brooklyn). She has been published by The Avery Review (2023) and Pin-Up Magazine (2021) and lectured at Harvard Graduate School of Design (2022).

Orlando Estrada is an interdisciplinary artist born in 1986 Los Alamitos, Orange County, California; raised in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida. Estrada holds a BFA in Photography from Florida International University (2008) and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Florida (2014). His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally including Rachel Uffner (New York City), McLennon Pen Co (Austin, Texas), Jeff’s (Detroit, Michigan), Launch F18 (New York City), BFI (Miami, Florida), Grace Exhibition Space (New York City), Marinaro Gallery (New York City), Pioneer Works (New York City), Knockdown Center (New York City), El Museo del Barrio (New York City), David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, Colorado), David Castillo Gallery (Miami, Florida), Art Center South Florida (Miami, Florida) and Fundación del Centro Cultural del México Contemporáneo (México City). Estrada has participated in multiple residencies including Heat Exchange 2024 hosted by Hordaland Kunstsenter in Bergen, Norway, a studio residency with the Bruce High Quality Foundation University NYC and Apexart International Artist Fellowship in Seoul, South Korea. Estrada’s work is included in the collection of Anges Rein (Brussels).