For our debut at Independent New York, Monique Meloche Gallery has planned a group presentation showcasing the gallery’s development over the past two decades, specifically as it can be tracked in relation to the growth of The Studio Museum in Harlem’s celebrated F-Series, which has provided an invaluable platform for emerging artists of color for nearly two decades. Our project includes artists whose work has been presented in both contexts since the museum’s seminal Freestyle debuted in 2001. Since then, the five iterations of the F-Series have served as a valuable incubator for new eyes and voices in the creative field; four of these have included artists meaningfully connected to the gallery’s program, specifically: Sanford Biggers (b. 1970), Abigail DeVille (b. 1981), Genevieve Gaignard (b. 1981), Rashid Johnson (b. 1977), Amy Sherald (b. 1973), Jeff Sonhouse (b. 1968), and Nate Young (b. 1981). Presented together, these artists and their works speak to the cultural legacy of the F-series, and the gallery’s demonstrated, ongoing commitment to the promotion of creative talents that reveal, question, and probe the socio-political issues at the heart of the contemporary American landscape. As an acknowledgment of the cultural contributions of the F-series, and of the gallery’s role as a platform for fresh artistic talent, our presentation dovetails appropriately with the 10th anniversary of Independent New York, which has similarly found success by providing an invigorating curatorial alternative to the traditional art fair model.