Frater explores the materials inherent to painting, expanding its language by integrating other histories, traditions, and conceptual frameworks. She approaches painting as an object rather than an image, engaging directly with its physical qualities to let each work retain its own presence and “voice.”

Through folding, layering, and manipulating the surface of the canvas like fabric, Alexander Frater transforms gestural marks into disruptions of form and meaning. These gestures—ripples, grids, gradients, and stripes—shift painting’s familiar vocabulary into new and unexpected directions. Her woven and folded works range from intensely physical large-scale pieces to intimately experimental studies in color and structure.

Alexander Frater holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Dayton, Ohio. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus), El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, Images Festival (Toronto), Ben-Gurion Airport (Tel Aviv), Kulturhuset (Stockholm), and Aspect/Ratio (Chicago).