Samuel Levi Jones: abstraction of truth
Vielmetter Los Angeles is pleased to announce abstraction of truth, Samuel Levi Jones’s newest exhibition with the gallery, on view from September 21 to November 2, 2024.
Samuel Levi Jones’s exhibition abstraction of truth presents a profound and timely critique of the structures that shape our understanding of authority and history. Jones’s method of deconstructing books, and now flags, serves as a powerful metaphor for the dismantling of the colonial and imperial narratives that continue to influence our legal and societal systems. By physically tearing apart these symbols of power and reassembling them into abstract compositions, Jones not only challenges the authority of these texts but also invites viewers to question the origins and implications of the knowledge they represent.
The introduction of American and British flags as raw materials in Jones’s latest works underscores the pervasive influence of colonialism on modern governance and law. By obscuring and layering these flags over legal texts, Jones illustrates how deeply entrenched these colonial legacies are within contemporary legal frameworks, highlighting the ongoing impact of imperialist histories on present-day systems of power.
Jones’s art is a call to action, urging viewers to reconsider the narratives that have been accepted as truth and to recognize the systemic inequalities that persist as a result of these constructed histories. His work not only redefines the boundaries of abstraction but also reimagines the role of art as a tool for social critique and transformation. abstraction of truth is a powerful reminder of the importance of questioning the structures that shape our world and the necessity of rethinking the balance between exclusion and equality in our society.
Samuel Levi Jones was born and raised in Marion, Indiana, and he lives and works in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trained as a photographer and multidisciplinary artist, he earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from Taylor University and a B.F.A from Herron School of Art and Design in 2009. He received his MFA in Studio Art from Mills College in 2012.
Museum exhibitions include When You See Me: Visibility in Contemporary Art/History at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; The Empire is Falling at The Contemporary Dayton, Dayton, OH; Left of Center at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Indiana; Infinite Blue at the Brooklyn Museum, New York; Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Guiffrida Collection at the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago, Illinois; and Unbound, Studio Museum in Harlem. His work can be found in museum and public collections such as the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Wisconsin; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, Florida; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He is the recipient of the 2014 Joyce Alexander Wein artist prize awarded by the Studio Museum in Harlem.