Jason Stewart's Color Reliefs Exhibition at Geary Contemporary in 2017

Jason Stewart presented his solo exhibition 'Color Reliefs' at Geary Contemporary's project space from September 7 to October 14, 2017. Located at 185 Varick Street at King Street in New York City, the show featured shaped canvas paintings that created visual paradoxes through color and form. Works like Untitled (Eclipse) (2017) used day-glow colors reminiscent of children's toys in hard-edged, gumdrop-shaped compositions. The artist employed flawless carpentry to construct raised surfaces that destabilized spatial relationships. In Untitled (Saratoga Hot) (2017), a pale pink iris-like center appeared to advance despite being framed by flat cadmium red that would typically dominate the foreground. Stewart's color choices included fluorescent yellow that functioned like irreverent decals, as seen in Untitled (Crosstown) (2017) where a black and yellow quadrilateral band disrupted white-on-white architecture. While his hard-edged elements might recall 1960s Ellsworth Kelly, Stewart's punchy colors and destabilized sensibility felt contemporary. The exhibition demonstrated his rare ability for continual self-invention and risk-taking in abstraction. Some of his strongest paintings were reportedly displayed in the gallery's office and backroom rather than the main exhibition space.