Jason Stopa

American Contemporary Artist Jason Stopa’s First Solo Exhibition In Turkey At Sevil Dolmacı Istanbul

“INTERIOR MONUMENT”

January 30 – March 1, 2025.

Villa Ipranosyan, Beşiktaş-Istanbul

Sevil Dolmacı Istanbul is pleased to present Interior Monument, the first solo exhibition in Turkey by renowned American contemporary artist, writer, and curator Jason Stopa. Known for blending analog and digital in his works, Stopa’s exhibition offers a new, site-specific selection of paintings that will be on display from January 30 to March 1, 2025.

Jason Stopa employs a contemporary language in his works that intertwines the analog and the digital, questioning the relationship between color, light, and space. His production process involves layers of oil paint on canvas, using large brush strokes and transparent washes. This allows viewers to recognize the physical presence and significance of the painting as well as its materiality in contrast to digital imagery.

Embracing the understanding that a painting is “as color as light and light as space,” Stopa creates works that blur the viewer’s perception of foreground and background. In his paintings, he incorporates light not just as a medium but as a structural element. He considers both the colors and the space of a painting as part of the light, reflecting it onto the viewer’s perception.

The themes in Interior Monument are deeply connected to the tradition of abstract painting and Stopa’s personal history. He believes that paintings, in a formal sense, establish a relationship with the viewer.

Engaging in research related to art history and architectural history, Jason Stopa draws inspiration from the unbuilt project of the Radical Architecture group Archizoom, known for their No-Stop City project: This unrealized project suggests a vision of a city with no boundaries, stretching into infinity—a symbol of freedom and ecological sustainability. His paintings begin with a grid structure, which the artist then disrupts using arabesque forms and intuitive decisions. Stopa’s works evolve and diversify around this underlying logic.

Additionally, Stopa incorporates motifs resembling open windows in some of his works on paper, referencing early 20th-century French paintings. The window, as both a physical and virtual element, open, close, withhold, promise, shed light and obscure visual information, much as paintings do. In his works, windows serve to both clarify and obscure visual perception. Stopa likens the geometric forms in his paintings to two-dimensional sculptures. In most of his works, he uses decoration and framing while exploring the tension and harmony between geometry and emotional form. His striking, bright, and vibrant color palette traces an artistic lineage from Henri Matisse to Bob Thomson and Stanley Whitney.

Sevil Dolmacı Gallery invites art lovers to explore Jason Stopa’s exhibition “Interior Monument,” encouraging visitors to continuously question and rethink what they see and perceive while they explore Jason Stopa’s colorful utopian spaces and cities. We look forward to welcoming you to Villa İpranosyan from January 30 to March 1, 2025.

About Jason Stopa
Jason Stopa (b. 1983) is a contemporary American artist, writer, and curator known for his abstract paintings. Living and working in Brooklyn, New York, Stopa completed his undergraduate education at Indiana University Bloomington and his master’s degree at Pratt Institute. He now teaches as an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at FIT. He is also a contributing writer to Artforum, The Brooklyn Rail, BOMB, Hyperallergic, Momus, and artcritical, among other art journals. His works are part of significant collections, including The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Fidelity Investments, Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, Wythe Hotel Collection, Artothèque, and Espaces d’art contemporain. His recent solo shows include Glass Arcadia at Thomas Park, Seoul, Korea (2024) DIY Paradise at Assembly, Houston, TX (2023), Garden of Music at Diane Rosenstein, LA (2023). His recent group exhibitions include Intuitive Nature: Geometric Roots & Organic Foundations at The Schneider Museum, Ashland, OR (2023) Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation, at Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis, CA (2021).