November 17 - February 24, 2024
“Assembly is thrilled to present DIY Paradise, the first solo exhibition of New York-based artist Jason Stopa in Houston. This exhibition acts as a site-specific installation of brand new work, bringing together Stopa’s large-scale paintings with a unique wall painting, works on paper, and the artist’s first-ever sculptural works. Throughout his practice, Stopa has used the language of color and abstraction to mine and undermine the concept of utopia—a physical impossibility, yet historically a recurring, imaginary place that emerges in times of cultural struggle and disillusionment.
Stopa’s geometric and architectural compositions reference a sense of space and place that is idealistic. His paintings use structural shapes and arabesque composed of thin washes of oil paint, alongside ornamentation such as lattice, to create works that hint at a physical existence, yet remain flat, dimensional forms on canvas. Stopa has a sustained interest in color as content. The artist writes:
“I think a lot about color ‘families.’ My color isn’t arbitrary; it’s color that’s rooted in early Henri Matisse, Bob Thompson, Stanley Whitney, and Mary Heilmann. It’s graphic, optimistic color loaded with content about mythologies, Arcadia, and joy. To use that palette is to reference that content.”
DIY Paradise is critical of societal structures while also presenting a genuine space for hope and potential futures. In a moment where hope may seem distant or impractical, these works tether the radical to the personal by suggesting an ambiguous place where we might find our own paradise.
Marjorie Rawle: [email protected]”
Reception: November 17, 2023 | 6–8 pm
4411 Montrose Boulevard, Suite F
Houston, 77006 Texas
(713) 485-5510
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