ARTISTS
Jeremy Lawson: Mayday
Harper鈥檚 is pleased to announce Mayday, New York-based artist Jeremy Lawson鈥檚 third solo exhibition with the gallery. The presentation features new brushless oil paintings by Lawson and opens Friday, May 3, 6鈥�8pm, with a reception attended by the artist.
Across Mayday, Lawson deepens his engagement with lineages of abstract expressionism. Rooting his visual language in the tenets of gestural improvisation, Lawson develops spontaneous marks without the aid of a brush鈥攁n approach reminiscent of the unconventional methods of twentieth-century action painters. Repeatedly, the artist juxtaposes thick layers of slick pigment to divide the visual plane, nearly sculpting with the paint. Describing his expressionistic process ahead of his 2023 solo exhibition with Harper鈥檚, Lawson explains:
鈥淭he materials take on a life of their own. Painting directly with my hands, it would seem as if I had more intimate control over them, however, I constantly have to cooperate with deviations from my intentions. In this respect, I鈥檓 responding to the dictates of the media at least as much as, if not more than, when I鈥檓 asserting my will. It鈥檚 a long conversation between myself and every painting; I鈥檓 just trying to stay attuned to their physical properties鈥攁nd find harmony with the force of gravity.鈥�
Among the works that comprise Mayday, Lawson continues his pursuit of gestural freedom: with these electric new paintings, Lawson explores the liberatory potential of color, shape, and form, calling for a careful study of the poetics of transcendent composition.
Throughout the exhibition, the color red slices across several canvases as if ringing the alarm of a mayday call. The urgent hue zips across the work, With Fever Comes Attention, where Lawson layers blazing sheaths of red paint amidst smoky black shadows. Lilac simmers between this interplay of red and black, as the floral hue greets ecstatic lime green and rustic burnt orange. Other times, like in Rough Trade, deep blues provide momentary relief, beckoning the viewer to slow down and linger within an abyss of melancholic saturation. The artist applies the paint with cathartic vigor in both works, striking a steady balance of dark and vibrant pigment. The resultant compositions are, thus, temperamental and introspective: it is this remarkable balance of frenetic hues and boisterous textures that unites Lawson鈥檚 recent series of immersive abstractions.
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Harper鈥檚 is pleased to announce Mayday, New York-based artist Jeremy Lawson鈥檚 third solo exhibition with the gallery. The presentation features new brushless oil paintings by Lawson and opens Friday, May 3, 6鈥�8pm, with a reception attended by the artist.
Across Mayday, Lawson deepens his engagement with lineages of abstract expressionism. Rooting his visual language in the tenets of gestural improvisation, Lawson develops spontaneous marks without the aid of a brush鈥攁n approach reminiscent of the unconventional methods of twentieth-century action painters. Repeatedly, the artist juxtaposes thick layers of slick pigment to divide the visual plane, nearly sculpting with the paint. Describing his expressionistic process ahead of his 2023 solo exhibition with Harper鈥檚, Lawson explains:
鈥淭he materials take on a life of their own. Painting directly with my hands, it would seem as if I had more intimate control over them, however, I constantly have to cooperate with deviations from my intentions. In this respect, I鈥檓 responding to the dictates of the media at least as much as, if not more than, when I鈥檓 asserting my will. It鈥檚 a long conversation between myself and every painting; I鈥檓 just trying to stay attuned to their physical properties鈥攁nd find harmony with the force of gravity.鈥�
Among the works that comprise Mayday, Lawson continues his pursuit of gestural freedom: with these electric new paintings, Lawson explores the liberatory potential of color, shape, and form, calling for a careful study of the poetics of transcendent composition.
Throughout the exhibition, the color red slices across several canvases as if ringing the alarm of a mayday call. The urgent hue zips across the work, With Fever Comes Attention, where Lawson layers blazing sheaths of red paint amidst smoky black shadows. Lilac simmers between this interplay of red and black, as the floral hue greets ecstatic lime green and rustic burnt orange. Other times, like in Rough Trade, deep blues provide momentary relief, beckoning the viewer to slow down and linger within an abyss of melancholic saturation. The artist applies the paint with cathartic vigor in both works, striking a steady balance of dark and vibrant pigment. The resultant compositions are, thus, temperamental and introspective: it is this remarkable balance of frenetic hues and boisterous textures that unites Lawson鈥檚 recent series of immersive abstractions.
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