GR Gallery in New York will present 'Made To Appear', a two-person exhibition featuring Indian artist Viraj Khanna and Los Angeles-based artist Brian Robertson. Running from June 19 to August 1, 2026, the show brings together new bodies of work that combine textile traditions, mixed media, and contemporary imagery to explore identity, authenticity, and visual culture in the social media era. Khanna uses intricate embroidery developed with artisans from West Bengal to examine class, consumption, and online validation, while Robertson employs layered materials, fabric impressions, and acrylic paint to reconstruct personal memories into dreamlike scenes.
The exhibition matters because it highlights how textile-based practices are being used to interrogate contemporary issues of self-presentation and performativity in digital culture. By bringing together two artists who approach fabric and mixed media from different cultural perspectives, 'Made To Appear' contributes to ongoing conversations about authenticity, representation, and the tension between surface appearance and material reality. The show also marks the first collaboration between both artists and GR Gallery, which relocated to Tribeca in 2025 and traces its origins to a gallery founded in Venice in 1979.