September 11- October 9, 2026
Reception September 11, 5-7pm
In a new exhibition at Spudnik Press, artist Palak Patel transforms the flat, traditional print into something heavy, structural, and spatial. Originating from her residency, Patel’s project explores a simple but demanding question: can a screenprint function as a piece of architecture or a standalone sculpture?
Patel’s process relies on a constant, physical back-and-forth in the studio. Working on canvas, fabric, and paper, she builds her surfaces through contrasting layers—allowing water-based crayons and transparent inks to sink into the weave of raw cloth, while crisp silkscreened ink sits perfectly flat on top. This physical layering creates a distinct tension on the surface, where color and material are constantly pushing against one another.
The imagery driving this body of work bridges the private mind and the moving body. Patel translates the kinetic, high-energy rhythms of her boxing and dance practices alongside the quiet, text-heavy pages of her personal journals into monumental, large-scale drawings. By printing these fluid movements on an expansive scale, the resulting pieces shift from mere images on a wall into massive, physical interventions that dictate how a viewer moves through the gallery space.
In connection with the movement driving this body of work, the opening reception will feature a salsa dance lesson during the event by Studio E
Palak Patel is a Chicago-based printmaker and painter whose work centers on material weight, physical repetition, and the hidden texture of daily life. Raised in Vadodara, India, she finds her creative footing in the tangible things she carries—specifically the tattered, peeling notebooks in her tote bag that overflow with collected ephemera. Her practice is equally shaped by her time spent outside the studio at the boxing gym and within Latin dance socials, where she studies the mechanics of rhythm, impact, and human movement.
Palak earned her degree in painting and drawing from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara, before moving to Chicago to complete her MFA in Printmedia at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has developed her work through residencies at Farwell House in Illinois and Poor Farm in Wisconsin. Her pieces have been exhibited across Chicago at venues including the South Asia Institute, the Research House for Asian Art, Color Club, and free range.
Programs at Spudnik Press are partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Driehaus Foundation, and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.