rocki swiderski, dying breath (blockade), 2026
acrylic and gouache on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

Booth 336

Location:
Navy Pier Festival Hall, 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL

VIP Preview:
Thursday, April 9, 2026

General Admission:
Friday, April 10 | 11:00am - 7:00pm
Saturday, April 11 | 11:00am - 7:00pm
Sunday, April 12 | 11:00am - 6:00pm

For EXPO 2026, we are featuring new work by Tucson-based artist rocki swiderski. Including painting, sculpture, and works on paper, the presentation will explore the ecosystems of varied landscapes, and how the fertile murkiness of a place embodies literal and metaphorical states of resistance.

Rooted in the exploration of landscape and its resources, their practice is informed by a primary residence in the southwest and seasonal movement across the United States. The work in this presentation depicts forgettable places of transition, pests or agitators, and scum - the layer of dirt on top of liquid. With or without discernable boundaries, scum is a breeding ground and a site of possibility. These transitional spaces and what brews there become a metaphor for resilience, and for what survives in the face of our changing social, political, and increasingly militarized environment. Additionally, their focus on water, or its scarcity, is a direct examination of the harsh realities of residence in the arid climate of the southwest.

Rendered in their signature jewel tones, their work creates a faulty illusion of calm, and, yet, a helicopter hovers in the water's reflection or mosquitos buzz close to stagnant surfaces. There is a palpable tension, as if we are witness to the calm before the proverbial storm.

“I spent a lot of my last ten years with land, desert romping and trudging, driving long distances, seeking shelter from the Sonoran summer. My work engages landscape as both material and problem. A landscape shaped by extraction, militarization, exposure, and the accusation of emptiness. Witnessing its beauty feels inevitable and complicated; Southwestern America is full of desecration and resilience. Images emerge through a combination of observation and vision, some from specific scenes and motifs I encounter, while others surface intuitively. I’m drawn to images that hover between the seen and the imagined, and to the challenge of freeing an image from the demand that it make immediate sense.” - rocki swiderski

To inquire, please email Olivia McManus at olivia@rivalryprojects.com.

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About the Artist

rocki swiderski (b. 1994, California) lives and works in Tucson, Arizona. Spanning disciplines, swiderski manipulates color and form to capture the untold essence of the desert southwest. Their focus is currently on boundaries, barriers, natural resources, looking at the sky, and daydreaming about the new world. swiderski’s work has been included in recent exhibitions at Stellarhighway (Brooklyn, NY), Rivalry Projects (Buffalo, NY), Georgetown Steamplant (Seattle, WA), and Arusha Gallery (London, EN). They are a 2024 recipient of Night Bloom, Grants for Artists through MOCA Tucson and the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts. Currently swiderski also co-runs Precious Cargo, a gallery and artist publication project in Tucson, AZ. swiderski is represented by Rivalry Projects, Buffalo, NY.

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