Jude Griebel
Natural Resistance

From April 8 to May 23, 2026

Galerie Nicolas Robert is pleased to present Natural Resistance, a solo exhibition by Jude Griebel.

“Natural resistance” most often refers to the body’s innate ability to withstand harmful agents such as diseases and pests, without intervention. This exhibition applies the meaning to ecosystems being forced to contend with humanity, as an ongoing threat to their persistence. The sculptures and drawings present expressive instances of re-wilding, revolt, and adaptation by common flora and fauna. 

An oversized dandelion walks across the rubble of a collapsed city. An earthworm waves a flag of surrender in the wake of chemical fertilizers. A garden carrot proudly walks through microbial soil, bearing its irregularities and rejecting the homogeneity of the supermarket shelf. Fallen leaves with human faces represent portents for humanity’s decline.

The whimsical inverted worlds of medieval marginalia are noted within this work, as well as their anthropomorphic echoes through modern animation and advertising. In this era of environmental collapse and manipulation, these hybrid figures gain new pertinence, as agents of transformation and harbingers of ruin.

Jude Griebel is a Canadian artist working between New York City and Calgary, Canada. His sculptures probe the intersections between consumerism, ecology, and myth—translating environmental precarity into carefully crafted, allegorical forms. The mechanics of consumerism is a driving theme behind his sculptures, with a specific focus on the factory food system and its implications for land depletion and climate shift. These interests have broadened from his family’s agrarian history on the Canadian prairies to the complexities of global food challenges, ecological strain and interspecific relationships. Recent works incorporate materials such as stained glass and porcelain, creating distinctive links between craft histories, the species that sustain us and their distorted representation in visual culture.

Griebel’s work has been supported by major grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. Recent exhibitions include CHART, New York; Massey Klein Gallery, New York; C24, New York; The Rochester Center for Contemporary Art, NY; and Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Ireland. His sculptural work is included in Eric Fischl's curatorial project The Ark, opening in 2026 at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn. Griebel is a 50th Anniversary recipient of the Kohler Foundation’s Art + Industry residency, and his work has been supported by additional residencies at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha; Pioneer Works, New York; International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York; Yaddo, Saratoga Springs; Halle 14 Center for Contemporary Art, Leipzig, and 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo.