On Stellar Rays is pleased to present 13 paintings by Rochelle Feinstein, defined by the artist as The Estate of Rochelle F. Also included in the exhibition is a series of 29 ink drawings by Feinstein, constituting the pages of A Catalog of The Estate…, in which Feinstein indexes each of the paintings through text and illustrations.

The Estate of Rochelle F. began during the economic downturn of 2009, when Feinstein surveyed her studio’s assets, counting among these older stretchers, unfinished paintings, unused art supplies, and an assortment of other resources. Feinstein ventured to optimize these assets’ value by recombining the materials into a new body of work. In making The Estate, Feinstein 1) would not spend any additional money on this work, 2) would use any and all supplies as “assets,” and 3) would use maximal material and minimal gesture.

Feinstein’s works weave together her own subjectivity with historical and vernacular associations, an expansive painting lexicon, and the mythologies and matter of popular culture. The result is an a-stylistic yet deeply personal body of work, each gesture deliberate and vacillating between earnestness and irreverence. Feinstein’s interests are even more pronounced in such a pre-posthumous assignment, in which revisionism and resourcefulness permit a particularly focused and substantive view of Feinstein’s quick-witted and often capricious work.

All 13 paintings are included in the exhibition. Several will be on view in the main gallery – the selection may change during the exhibition – and the remaining work is stored onsite and viewable by request. A Catalog of The Estate… will be printed for the exhibition. The original catalog drawings will also be on view in the gallery office.

Rochelle Feinstein lives and works in New York. Recent solo exhibitions include LAB Space/Art Production Fund, New York, NY (2009); Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY (2008); The Suburban, Chicago, IL (2008). Recent awards and grants include an Anonymous Was A Woman grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant. Ms. Feinstein received a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 1975 and an M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1978. She was appointed to the Yale University/School of Art faculty in 1994 and is currently professor of painting/printmaking. Her work has been reviewed in Artforum, TimeOut, Tema Celeste, Artnews, Art in America, The New York Times, The New Yorker Magazine, and other publications.