RACHEL HARRISON at Greene Naftali reviewed by Tom McGlynn for The Brooklyn Rail
Greene Naftali
Exhibition
RACHEL HARRISON
The Friedmann Equations
Ground Floor

Rachel Harrison
Rro Sela, 2025
Framed pigmented inkjet print
22 1/4 x 16 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches (57 x 42 x 4 cm)

Rachel Harrison
Rroe Deloy, 2025
Framed pigmented inkjet print
22 1/4 x 16 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches (57 x 42 x 4 cm)

Rachel Harrison
S, 2025
Framed pigmented inkjet print
22 1/4 x 16 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches (57 x 42 x 4 cm)
Harrison’s exhibition of new work features sculptures, drawings, and prints that broach translatability and wordless communication.
The Friedmann Equations describe the expansion of the universe over time, relating the rate of cosmic expansion, matter and energy, density, and spatial curvature. Brandished by student demonstrators as a form of silent protest, these equations took on new meaning.
Laws of mathematics are independent of language. Can the same be said for sculpture? Sculpture must behave according to the principles of gravity, like sneakers thrown over power lines. Or the scales of justice. But maybe it ends there. Maybe sculpture can hallucinate just like technology, like a translation app spitting out its own errant wording. It’s in advance of becoming abstract.

Rachel Harrison
Painter Hangs Own Paintings, 2025
Wood, polystyrene, cardboard, cement, acrylic, and metal folding chair
43 x 37 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches (109 x 95 x 60 cm)

Rachel Harrison
Balaenopteridae, 2025
Wood, cardboard, polystyrene, cement, and acrylic
112 1/2 x 48 x 31 inches (286 x 122 x 79 cm)

Rachel Harrison, Balaenopteridae, 2025

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, Scepter, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison
Scepter, 2025
Wood, polystyrene, cardboard, chicken wire, burlap, cement, enamel, acrylic, Converse Chuck Taylor
All Star sneakers, Uline dolly, and Panasonic KX-TG5431 telephone with answering machine
92 1/2 x 84 x 41 inches (235 x 213 x 104 cm)

Rachel Harrison, Scepter, 2025

Rachel Harrison, Scepter, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison
Coral Corridor, 2025
Wood, polystyrene, cardboard, cement, acrylic, and shovel
82 1/2 x 26 3/4 x 23 inches (210 x 68 x 58 cm)

Rachel Harrison, Coral Corridor, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, The Excavator, 2023 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, inbut of a Cor.ner, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, A Broken Arm, 2023 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison
Yellow Press, 2025
Wood, foam, cement, acrylic, and brass newspaper box
70 1/2 x 42 3/4 x 18 1/2 inches (179 x 109 x 47 cm)

Rachel Harrison, Yellow Press, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, Spolia, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, Spolia, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, Black Box, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, A Scholar Treads on a Market Woman's Basket of Eggs, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, The Land of Gog and Magog, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison
Party Collection, 2025
Polystyrene, cardboard, cement, acrylic, Forever 21 Party Collection bottoms, and stool
37 1/2 x 22 x 16 1/2 inches (95 x 56 x 42 cm)

Rachel Harrison, Party Collection, 2025 (detail)

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison, installation view, The Friedmann Equations, Greene Naftali, New York, 2025

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil and wax crayon on velour pastel paper
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 inches (48 x 36 cm)

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil and wax crayon on velour pastel paper
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 inches (48 x 36 cm)

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil, wax crayon, and acrylic on velour pastel paper
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 inches (48 x 36 cm)

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil on velour pastel paper
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 inches (48 x 36 cm)

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil on velour pastel paper
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 inches (48 x 36 cm)

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil and wax crayon on velour pastel paper
12 5/8 x 9 1/2 inches (32 x 24 cm)

Rachel Harrison
viii Drawing, 2025
Colored pencil and blue tape on velour pastel paper
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 inches (48 x 36 cm)

Rachel Harrison
Ers, 2025
Framed pigmented inkjet print
22 1/4 x 16 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches (57 x 42 x 4 cm)
Press
RACHEL HARRISON at Greene Naftali reviewed by Zack Hatfield for 4Columns
RACHEL HARRISON at Greene Naftali featured by John Vincler for Cultured