Clint Jukkala's Cosmic Trigger exhibition at BravinLee programs explores psychedelic abstraction

Clint Jukkala's exhibition Cosmic Trigger at BravinLee programs features thirteen vibrant canvases with nursery-hued colors. The show includes Telepath, a painting that evokes Henri Matisse's Moroccan period from 1912-1913 through its color palette and textures. Jukkala's work blends Color Field abstraction with flower power iconography and references to Alfred Jensen. His schematic yet individualized personages present ambiguous perspectives, appearing as both subjects of an intoxicated gaze and viewers through psychedelic eyes. The artist, a Yale MFA graduate, previously taught at Yale before joining the Pennsylvania Academy last year. Jukkala creates persona-abstractions with what the review describes as a "constantly rewetted innocent eye." The exhibition runs through June 7 at 526 West 26th Street #211 in New York City. The paintings display a strong purposive wobble in their giant split disks of eye and lens, suggesting influences from Robert Delaunay and Joan Miró alongside Matisse. The work's gender ambiguity emerges through fading blue verticals and stripes that could be interpreted as facial hair or beaded veils.