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The Armory Show 2023

Booth 102

September 710, 2023

This image illustrates a link to the exhibition titled The Armory Show 2023 | Booth 102

Press Release

Installation photo credit: Dawn Blackman

 

Vielmetter Los Angeles is pleased to announce our presentation for the 2023 Armory Show, a three-person booth with new works by Ellen Berkenblit, Elizabeth Neel, and Lavaughan Jenkins. A shared spirit of experimentation and distinctive painterly language links the three artists. Their visual vocabularies defy a singular narrative in favor of a highly idiosyncratic painterly language that thrives on formal repetition and celebrates an exuberant lexicon of mark-making.

Ellen Berkenblit makes bold paintings that blend formal experimentation and a virtuoso handling of color and line with an ever-evolving pictorial calligraphy (including a woman in profile, animals and birds, abstracted flowers and plant-like shapes). Berkenblit employs an intoxicating palette ranging from dirty pinks and muted flesh tones to acid greens and vibrant blues and reds that pop against rich velvety blacks and umbers. Composed intuitively, her paintings evoke an innate physicality as Berkenblit builds the images through brushstrokes—like sub-conscious electrical surges—that dictate the composition. For the artist, the alchemical nature of paint and pigment demonstrate a synesthesia as colors evoke sounds and tastes and figures emerge as the natural expression of her painting process.

Lavaughan Jenkins’s work centers images of Black women as icons of resilience and beauty in paintings that consist of thick layers of paint applied with his fingers or a palette knife. Jenkins also references a vocabulary from across art history, including Francisco Goya and Philip Guston in his use of paint to convey emotion, depth, and symbol. In this newest body of work, a background of patterned ivory offsets his figures while focusing attention on the women he depicts. Referencing specific people in Jenkins’s life, the women–dressed in colorful attire–are often accompanied by Jenkins’s talismanic figures of protection which sit in the lower corner of the canvas.

Elizabeth Neel’s paintings on raw canvas employ greens, purples, and ochre colors that evoke both the natural world and emotive landscapes of the body. In her architecture of mark-making, splatters of color communicate with hard-edged shapes, expressing the emotional qualities of her vigorous paint application. Vertical swaths of paint anchor swirls, splatters, and smears only to drip onto the bottom of the canvas. Neel’s dexterous mark-making builds up compositions that translate her choreography of movements into specific forms. Her drips, pours, sweeping brushstrokes, and impressions onto the canvas conjure a poetic lyricism beyond her paintings.

Ellen Berkenblit
“Cool Pink,” 2023
Oil on linen
38" x 27" x 1 ⁵⁄₈" [HxWxD] (96.52 x 68.58 x 4.11 cm)
Inventory #BER249
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Cool Pink." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 38" x 27" x 1 ⁵⁄₈" [HxWxD] (96.52 x 68.58 x 4.11 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Elizabeth Neel
“June Thrum,” 2023
Acrylic on canvas
66" x 28" [HxW] (167.64 x 71.12 cm)
Inventory #NEE257
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Elizabeth Neel titled "June Thrum." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 66" x 28" [HxW] (167.64 x 71.12 cm). Its medium is Acrylic on canvas.
Ellen Berkenblit
“Peacockery,” 2023
Oil on linen
35" x 22 ¹⁄₄" x 1" [HxWxD] (88.9 x 56.52 x 2.54 cm)
Inventory #BER250
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Peacockery." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 35" x 22 ¹⁄₄" x 1" [HxWxD] (88.9 x 56.52 x 2.54 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Lavaughan Jenkins
“Sunday's Best,” 2023
Oil on panel
30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm)
Inventory #JEN1050
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Lavaughan Jenkins titled "Sunday's Best." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm). Its medium is Oil on panel.
Ellen Berkenblit
“Taffeta Peacock,” 2023
Oil on linen
39 ¹⁄₈" x 28 ¹⁄₄" x 1" [HxWxD] (99.36 x 71.76 x 2.54 cm)
Inventory #BER251
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Taffeta Peacock." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 39 ¹⁄₈" x 28 ¹⁄₄" x 1" [HxWxD] (99.36 x 71.76 x 2.54 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Lavaughan Jenkins
“3 Sisters,” 2023
Oil on panel
30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm)
Inventory #JEN1051
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Lavaughan Jenkins titled "3 Sisters." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 30" x 24" x 2 ¹⁄₄" [HxWxD] (76.2 x 60.96 x 5.72 cm). Its medium is Oil on panel.
Elizabeth Neel
“One Sort of Argument,” 2023
Acrylic on canvas
78" x 58" [HxW] (198.12 x 147.32 cm)
Inventory #NEE262
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Elizabeth Neel titled "One Sort of Argument." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 78" x 58" [HxW] (198.12 x 147.32 cm). Its medium is Acrylic on canvas.
Ellen Berkenblit
“Birdsley,” 2023
Oil on linen
35" x 22 ¹⁄₄" x 1" [HxWxD] (88.9 x 56.52 x 2.54 cm)
Inventory #BER252
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Birdsley." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 35" x 22 ¹⁄₄" x 1" [HxWxD] (88.9 x 56.52 x 2.54 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Lavaughan Jenkins
“Black Barbie,” 2023
Oil on panel
30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm)
Inventory #JEN1052
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Lavaughan Jenkins titled "Black Barbie." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 30" x 24" x 2 ¹⁄₄" [HxWxD] (76.2 x 60.96 x 5.72 cm). Its medium is Oil on panel.
Ellen Berkenblit
“Our World at Night,” 2023
Oil on linen
50 ¹⁄₈" x 32" x 1" [HxWxD] (127.3 x 81.28 x 2.54 cm)
Inventory #BER253
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Our World at Night." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 50 ¹⁄₈" x 32" x 1" [HxWxD] (127.3 x 81.28 x 2.54 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Lavaughan Jenkins
“A little extra,” 2023
Oil on panel
30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm)
Inventory #JEN1053
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Lavaughan Jenkins titled "A little extra." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 30" x 24" x 2 ¹⁄₄" [HxWxD] (76.2 x 60.96 x 5.72 cm). Its medium is Oil on panel.
Ellen Berkenblit
“Think of Green,” 2023
Oil on linen
39 ¹⁄₁₆" x 28 ¹⁄₁₆" x 1" [HxWxD] (99.21 x 71.27 x 2.54 cm)
Inventory #BER255
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Think of Green." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 39 ¹⁄₁₆" x 28 ¹⁄₁₆" x 1" [HxWxD] (99.21 x 71.27 x 2.54 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Lavaughan Jenkins
“Let's straighten it out,” 2023
Oil on panel
30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm)
Inventory #JEN1054
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Lavaughan Jenkins titled "Let's straighten it out." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm). Its medium is Oil on panel.
Elizabeth Neel
“Morning Stand for Night,” 2023
Acrylic on canvas
66" x 28" [HxW] (167.64 x 71.12 cm)
Inventory #NEE256
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Elizabeth Neel titled "Morning Stand for Night." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 66" x 28" [HxW] (167.64 x 71.12 cm). Its medium is Acrylic on canvas.
Ellen Berkenblit
“Argosy Magazine,” 2023
Oil on linen
14" x 11" x 1 ¹⁄₂" [HxWxD] (35.56 x 27.94 x 3.81 cm)
Inventory #BER256
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "Argosy Magazine." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 14" x 11" x 1 ¹⁄₂" [HxWxD] (35.56 x 27.94 x 3.81 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Lavaughan Jenkins
“For you, I will,” 2023
Oil on panel
30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm)
Inventory #JEN1055
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Adam Reich, NY
This image depicts an artwork by Lavaughan Jenkins titled "For you, I will." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 30" x 24" [HxW] (76.2 x 60.96 cm). Its medium is Oil on panel.
Ellen Berkenblit
“World of Umbrellas,” 2023
Oil on linen
14" x 11" x 1 ¹⁄₂" [HxWxD] (35.56 x 27.94 x 3.81 cm)
Inventory #BER257
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Dawn Blackman
This image depicts an artwork by Ellen Berkenblit titled "World of Umbrellas." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 14" x 11" x 1 ¹⁄₂" [HxWxD] (35.56 x 27.94 x 3.81 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.