Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery is pleased to announce a new solo exhibition of works by Jonah Koppel, entitled “Modern Art”. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, June 19th, from 7-9pm.

Jonah Koppel makes pattern-based paintings that ride a thin line between decoration and abstraction. The paintings are literally cut from a larger cloth, with an all-over treatment that could potentially continue infinitely without repeat. The patterns are placed on the stretchers arbitrarily; the unrelenting consistency of painted strokes makes no adjustments as it wraps around the sides of the painting. Individual marks dissolve into a generalized surface through the layering of colors, lines, and dots, until the lines lose their beginning and end, and the dots cannot be differentiated from one another. Koppel created the paintings using synthetic polymers; the plastic quality of these materials allows the paint to sink into the picture plane, giving the work a uniform and elastic surface.

The eight-foot paintings are installed close together in the gallery, leaving little white wall around them. This allows the various paintings to clash with each other, and creates a context within the space that is defined by the works rather than by the walls upon which they are hung.

Jonah Koppel holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. This is his second solo show with the gallery. Previously he exhibited at Rivington Arms.