Matt Jones's Multiverse exhibition merges punk aesthetics with meditative repetition at Freight + Volume

Matt Jones's exhibition Multiverse ran from March 31 to May 7, 2011, at Freight + Volume gallery in New York City, located at 530 W. 24th Street. The show featured densely installed works across the entire space, including floor-to-ceiling wall installations and propped figures. Jones employed simple materials through a punk rock approach to create iconic pieces, with surfaces treated uniformly across wall and floor works. Techniques involved inkjet prints cut to shapes, adhered to plywood with glue, then worked over with alcohol-based markers and abstract patterns, finished with multiple coats of thinned Elmer's Glue as a lacquer. A video titled Every Expression Possible (2011) depicted Jones in a mask performing various expressions against a Karma Charger backdrop. The exhibition blended contradictions, citing Buddhist practices and meditation alongside references like Wolverine masks and Black Flag logos, originally designed by Raymond Pettibon in the late 1970s. Propped figures in dynamic poses invited viewer interaction, creating a sense of a crowded room. Repetitive themes, such as black and white lines in Karma Chargers and recurrent characters, produced a visual chant-like effect. Karma Charger (2011), a large inverted wedge covered in Xerox sheets of stripes, functioned as a mandala intended to facilitate a meditative experience, with viewers exchanging psychic energy. The show achieved serenity amid punk-inspired cutouts, offering moments of quiet contemplation.