Carl Kostyál is delighted to present the debut solo exhibition of Pennsylvania-born, New York-based Jeremy Lawson in Milan.
“George Baselitz described abstraction as “an intelligent and sympathetic response to an unconscious manoeuvre.” With these words, Baselitz directly captures the process in the studio and how one might navigate the world.
While I am influenced by art history and the works that first drew me to painting—such as the Scandinavian COBRA artists of the late ’50s, Howard Hodgkin, Philip Guston’s late ’60s abstractions, early Dubuffet, Arte Povera’s use of simple materials, and Cy Twombly’s Ferragosto paintings—I approach the studio with a focus on a direct interaction with the work, untethered by references from the past. It’s a long, improvisational process that concludes when the painting has said what it needs to say.
I begin with an automatic drawing made with my hands dipped in paint. I then continue responding to it, either with my hands or oil paint poured onto paper pallets, which I smear or stamp onto the canvas over several months until a composition emerges. For the past three years, I’ve followed this process, intentionally making the marks difficult to control or predict. The accidents that arise become the content of the paintings.
Last September, I had the opportunity to visit Carl and Katharine in their home, and the idea of placing paintings within such a dynamic, historic space intrigued me. I’ve never given much thought to the context of my works—they are deeply personal and leave the studio to find their own path. However, the high ceilings and intricate floor details inspired me to create my largest piece to date, Night Swim. The other works, as always, settled into the familiar 5 x 6 feet size I’ve worked with over the past year, a scale that aligns with the natural reach of my body.”
– Jeremy Lawson, November 2024
Jeremy Lawson (b. 1980) received a BFA from Syracuse University in 2003, and an MFA from Hunter College in 2021. Recent group shows include ‘Painters of Modern Life: Part I’, Carl Kostyál, Casa Cardinale, Ibiza (2023); KIAF Seoul, Carl Kostyál, Seoul (2023) and ‘We Were Already Gone’, Hauser & Wirth, NYC (2021). In 2022, Lawson was a recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant.