​Jean Alexander Frater is a Chicago-based artist recognized for her innovative approach to painting, where she treats the canvas as a physical object rather than just a surface for images. She begins by painting on the canvas, then manipulates it like fabric—folding, layering, and weaving it to create textures and gestures that reimagine abstract elements such as grids, stripes, and gradients. This process both conceals and reveals different aspects of the painting, adding depth and complexity. By integrating techniques from fiber arts, ceramics, and sculpture, Frater pushes the boundaries of traditional painting. Her large woven pieces are intensely physical, while her smaller works explore experimental forms and color. 

 

Jean Alexander Frater received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Dayton, Ohio. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at the Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH), El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM), Images Festival (Toronto, ON), Ben-Gurion Airport (Tel Aviv, Israel), Kulturhuset (Stockholm, Sweden), THE MISSION Gallery (Chicago, IL), Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Chicago, IL), GAVLAK Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Transmitter Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), The Reinstitute (Baltimore, MD), and McKenzie Fine Art (New York, NY), among others. Jean Alexander Frater was a recipient of the Working Artists Grant in 2014 and a BOLT resident at the Chicago Artists Coalition from 2017 to 2018. Frater is also the Director of Material, a non-profit, artist-run project space.