James Cohan is pleased to present I Cut The Sky In Two, an exhibition of new work by Jordan Nassar, on view from October 23 through November 21 at 291 Grand Street. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with James Cohan. The gallery will host an afternoon limited-capacity opening reception with the artist on Saturday, October 31 from 1-4PM that adheres to state COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Please click here to visit the Viewing Room for this exhibition.
Jordan Nassar’s hand-embroidered works address intersecting fields of craft, ethnicity and the embedded notions of heritage and homeland. Nassar uses geometric patterns characteristic of Palestinian tatreez—most often found on pillows, clothing, and other domestic textiles. The artist grew up in a home decorated with such objects. As he notes, “Growing up in the diaspora, much of Palestinian culture was experienced materially.”
This exhibition expands Nassar’s ongoing exploration of object, memory, and place, while introducing new levels of experimentation and craft techniques. I Cut The Sky In Two comprises two bodies of work: hand-embroidered wall works and flame-worked glass bead sculptures, a new element to the artist’s practice. His abstracted, imaginary landscapes are reflective of his own experience navigating both the physical and metaphorical distance of the Palestinian diaspora and its inherited nostalgia.