Denise Sfraga
IG @sfragadenise
 
Denise Sfraga is an artist working in an assortment of genres including photography, painting and mixed media.  Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Long Island University, C.W. Post College in Brookville, New York.
 
 
Selected Exhibitions

2023

Denise Sfraga Strange Brew   curated by Stephanie Lee

The Garage Art Center Bayside NY

Dear March - Come In (inspired by Emily Dickinson poem) curated by Alexandra Rutsch Brock

Birdhouse Gallery  Brooklyn, NY

2022
Holiday Show  curated by Julie Torres and Ellen Letcher    
LABspace  Hillsdale, NY
Sensing Women  curated by Christina Massey
C24 Gallery  NYC
Among Friends  curated by Alexandra Rutsch Brock, Beth Dary and Patricia Fabricant 
Equity Gallery  NYC
Spectrum  curated by Alexandra Rutsch Brock 
Serious Fun Arts Fest  White Plains, NY
Flowers That Bloom Forever  curated by Sunny Chapman
Birdhouse Gallery  Brooklyn, NY
War & Peace
Royal Society of American Art  Brooklyn, NY

2021
Italianità   online exhibition curated, written and edited by Joanne Mattera 
My Octopus Teacher Inspiration  curated by Christina Massey
online exhibition @woartblog
 
2020
The Enabling Act  curated by Nicole Castaldo and Michael David   
M. David & Co.  Brooklyn, NY
The Blues  curated by Kathy Cantwell and Lisa Pressman     
The Painting Center  New York, NY
USPS Art Project  created by Christina Massey  
(traveling exhibition)     The Pelham Art Center  Pelham, NY,  Ely Center of Contemporary Art  New Haven, CT,  Sunset Art Studios  Dallas, TX and Art Gym Denver  Denver, CO
Cribs  curated by Nicole Castaldo and Morgan Ashley  LoBo Gallery (online exhibition)
Holiday Show curated by Julie Torres and Ellen Letcher
LABspace Hillside, NY

2019
Ear To the Ground  curated by Julie Torres     
Ely Center of Contemporary Art  New Haven, CT
Ondate/Waves  curated by Paul D'Agostino and Simone Micciche     
Centotto  Brooklyn, NY, Officina 15  Bologna Italy and Area-A  Berlin, Germany
HyperAccumulators curated by Alexandra Rutsch Brock and Elizabeth Saperstein  Pelham Art Center  Pelham, NY
Among Friends  curated by Alexandra Rutsch Brock, Beth Dary and Patricia Fabricant   
Clemente Solo Velez Cultural Center  New York, NY
Poison Garden  solo exhibition curated by Michael David     
M. David & Co.  Brooklyn, NY
Holiday Show  curated by Julie Torres and Ellen Letcher    
LABspace  Hillsdale, NY
M. David & Co. Holiday Show  curated by Nicole Castaldo     
M. David & Co.  Brooklyn, NY
 
2018
Aporia  curated by Mary DeVincentis     
David & Schweitzer Contemporary  Brooklyn, NY
Among Friends  curated by Alexandra Rutsch Brock, Beth Dary and Patricia Fabricant      
Beth Dary Studio  Brooklyn, NY
Sideshow Nation VI  curated by Richard Timperio    
Sideshow Gallery  Brooklyn, NY
Chain Reaction     The Painting Center  New York, NY
Leaving A Mark  curated by Martin Dull     
M. David & Co.  Brooklyn, NY
By Their Fruits  curated by Nancy Iacoi  online charity exhibition
Talking Pictures 2nd Invitational Drawing Interpretations  
curated by Paul D'Agostino, Jeffrey Bishop and Cathy Nan Quinlan    
106 Van Buren  Brooklyn, NY
BIG Holiday Show  curated by Julie Torres and Ellen Letcher    
LABspace  Hillsdale, NY
Cosi Via  curated by Paul D’Agostino
Centotto  Brooklyn, NY
 
2017
True Believers  curated by Daniel John Gadd     
David & Schweitzer Contemporary  Brooklyn, NY
Yellow Chair Extravaganza  curated by Sharilyn Neidhardt, Tim Gowan and Meer Musa     
David & Schweitzer Contemporary  Brooklyn, NY
By Their Fruits  curated by Nancy Iacoi  online charity exhibition
 
2016
ReImagined V: The Artist's Hand  curated by Holly Roberts     
Tilt Gallery  Scotsdale, AZ
Seeking Space  curated by Julie Torres and Michael David  
David & Schweitzer Contemporary  Brooklyn, NY
Aporia  curated by Mary DeVincentis  
(online exhibition)    Curating Contemporary
Nonclamenture  curated by Paul D'Agostino      
Studio Ten  Brooklyn, NY
 
2015
Generation X: Razzle Dazzle Biennial    
A.I.R. Gallery  Brooklyn, NY
 
2013
Generation IX: Red/Pink Biennial    
A.I.R. Gallery  Brooklyn, NY

Nature has always been an important and integral part of Sfraga's creative life. As a visual artist and avid gardener, the life cycle of plants has always been at the root of her creative energies and exploration. Working in her own garden and experiencing its constant state of flux, from seed germination, leaf and flower growth, and the dispersion of the next generation of seeds, to the final stages of plant decay, Sfraga witnesses an ever-evolving landscape of life forms from which she draws visual inspiration.
Elizabeth Saperstein,  in her essay for the exhibition HyperAccumulators, which she co-curated with Alexandra Rutsch Brock, writes..."Sfraga's luminous drawings conjure beautiful but poisonous plants with exotic names. Her glowing, surreal forms recall the cutout animation of Fantastic Planet, the 1970's sci-fi film about humans living on a strange planet. Biomorphic tentacles and pods have a dreamy, psychedelic quality. Glowing edges contrast with the chalky, burnished quality achieved by layering marker and pencil".
Michael David, artist and curator of her solo show Poison Garden at M.David & Co., writes in the catalogue introduction..."Sfraga's process is obsessive and deceptive, just like her complex subjective matter. Her work first appears smooth and without overt gesture, but upon closer inspection, we see surfaces that are tirelessly reworked and made up of countless micro-adjustments. They're infused with lyrically lurid color, creating a surface and image that is simultaneously violent and subsumed. The results are beautiful, dark, luminous, seductive, and disturbing all at once."