NADA | rod jones ii
May 18 – 21, 2023
See the online viewing room here.

For the 9th edition of NADA New York, CUE Art Foundation presents work by rod jones ii from his 2022 solo exhibition, this must be the place to be mentored by Didier William. The works build upon his mixed-media practice and draw from jones's experiences growing up in his mother’s beauty salon. Using resourced fabric, synthetic hair, glass and acrylic beads, and dental floss, he makes soft sculpture “homies” and constructs a world for them to inhabit. 

The work is presented in the central staircase of 548 West, where this year’s fair takes place. jones's practice is invested in a kind of placemaking that asks questions rather than proposing answers. In activating this important connective infrastructure, he continues to ask these key questions: what does it mean to make intentional space? How do we hold—and how are we held by—the places we move through? Who are we in relation to what—or who—surrounds us? What does it feel like to be accepted and to be present, to be embraced and to belong?

Read more about the artist and his work below, and see CUE’s online viewing room for NADA here.

About the Artist
rod jones ii (b. 1994) is a multidisciplinary artist from Gary, Indiana living and working in Philadelphia, PA. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Printmaking from Truman State University, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Art from the Pennsylvania Academy. He has shown work at InLiquid Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA), Woodmere Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA), Truman State University (Kirksville, MO), Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Philadelphia, PA) and Anna Zorina Gallery (New York, NY). His work has also been collected by The Woodmere Museum of Art. He is currently an adjunct professor of Printmaking and Drawing at the University of Pennsylvania and Moore College of Art, and has lectured at Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Pace University, William Paterson University, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

About the Exhibition
To learn more about rod jones ii’s 2022 solo exhibition at CUE, this must be the place to be, mentored by Didier William, see here. For more context about the work, read Logan Cryer’s long-form essay about the exhibition, Black Queer Vernacular Art and the Beauty of rod jones ii, mentored by Serubiri Moses.

About CUE Art Foundation
CUE Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works with and for emerging and underrecognized artists and art workers to create new opportunities and present varied perspectives in the arts. Through our gallery space and public programs, we foster the development of thought-provoking exhibitions and events, create avenues for mentorship, cultivate relationships amongst peers and the public, and facilitate the exchange of ideas.

Fair Information
NADA New York 2023
Thursday, May 18 – Sunday, May 21, 2023
548 West 22nd Street, NYC

Inquiries
To inquire about pricing or purchase works by rod jones ii presented at NADA, please contact info@cueartfoundation.org. The artist is also available for original commissions, including site-specific work.

Installation Images