Justin Adian

HUCKLEBERRY

2019
oil enamel on canvas and felt
18 x 9 x 2 1/2 inches

I think of my works as geometric objects made so you can see the hand in every aspect, whether it is the painting or the construction, so there is no absolutes because the hand will always bail out absolute. There is no perfect right angle because I am not going to make them with my hand. – Justin Adian

Justin Adian’s works exist within the playful tension between painting and sculpture. Here, the rounded edge of two forms touch, and purple felt highlights the edge where the white element makes contact with the wall. The slick surfaces are softened by rounded edges, folds of material, and the sense that the shapes touch in just the right spot. Adian’s forms exist within the lineage of artists like Ellsworth Kelly, Lynda Benglis, and Eva Hesse who created “paintings” that assert themselves as wall-bound objects. Adian was born in Fort Worth, and lives and works in New York. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in the US and Europe.