Winkleman Gallery is very pleased to present “The ISM,” our first solo exhibition by New York artist David Kinast. With five new canvases, Kinast presents a gorgeous suite of all-over paintings that feature his signature layering of floral forms inspired by traditional Korean geometric patterns. Sometimes subtle, sometimes invigorating variations in his palettes combine with a mesmerizing rhythm in his mark-making to lend these elegant compositions a hypnotic presence. Sprinkled with passages of crosshatches, scribbles, or errant drips, these paintings have a playful irreverence that balances their minimalist appearance from afar with a highly painterly approach upon close inspection.

In a wide range of canvas sizes, from moderate to what can only be called “epic” (one is 8’ x 18’), Kinast examines the contemporary potential of painting within a self-defined system or doctrine. By choosing a process that could take over and eventually blot out the entire ground were he not to stop at some point, he has highlighted the central challenge for every new artist who puts brush to canvas in this age of Pluralistic practice: which guidelines or rules to follow. Through an exquisite and painstaking layering, ultimately as open as it is overflowing, Kinast reveals the entire history of each painting for the viewer patient enough to examine his pieces up close. Stepping back again, however, new patterns emerge, revealing sweeping gestures built up from his lighter to darker colors.

David Kinast was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Oklahoma. He studied at Temple University Rome, and received his MFA from the Tyler School of Art in 1999. He had a solo exhibition at Steve Turner Contemporary in Los Angeles in 2007. He now lives and works in New York. For more information, ple