Vielmetter Los Angeles is pleased to announce Samuel Levi Jones’ second solo exhibition with the gallery, No More Tokens. In this new body of work, Jones continues his process of deconstructing academic reference books by stripping them of their covers and repurposing the materials to compose abstract paintings. The works in this exhibition are comprised specifically of fabric book jackets from art historical publications published in the last 50 years.

Jones’ culls the book jackets from used and discarded art books in order to engage with authoritative narratives which perpetuate inequities in the art world, particularly the exclusion of artists of color, female artists, and other marginalized populations from such sources of knowledge.

Through the process of removal Jones contends with the structures of power which produce and perpetuate seemingly objective narratives, literally undoing their physical forms. Skinning the fabric book covers from their supports, Jones suggests lack through removal, repurposing the materials to create a unified composition from the otherwise destructed material. Sewing the jackets together in a collage-like manner, Jones creates painterly compositions without use of paint, further contending with hierarchies in the art world which continue to favor painting over other forms of art.

Samuel Levi Jones received an MFA from Mills College in Oakland, CA in 2012. He has had solo exhibitions at Newfields, Indianapolis Museum of Art; the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, IN; the Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; Galerie Lelong, New York, NY; PATRON, Chicago, IL; and PAPILLON, Los Angeles, CA. His work has been included in group exhibitions at the Smart Museum, Chicago, IL; the International Print Center New York; the Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; the Mistake Room, Los Angeles, CA; Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, CA; and the Watts Towers Art Center, Los Angeles, CA among others. Jones is represented by PATRON in Chicago, IL and Galerie LeLong in New York, NY.

The gallery is located at 1700 S Santa Fe Avenue, south of the 10 freeway. Parking is available on the north parking lot adjacent to the building. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and by appointment.