TOKYO.- MAKI Gallery will present London-based artist Johnny Abrahams’ inaugural solo exhibition in Japan, titled 24 Colors for Junichi, at our Tennoz gallery space. Abrahams’ abstract paintings initially appear as compositions of forms and colors, yet upon closer inspection, a depth emerges through their tactile materiality. His use of raw hessian canvas, the texture of his layered paint, and the subtle ebb and flow created by the palette knife generate slight yet certain never-settling oscillations that bring his paintings to life. It is not rigid perfection that he aims to create in his paintings, but rather an unpredictable nature that counterbalances strict intention with accidents. In this way, Abrahams succeeds in making the painted geometric forms more immediate, relatable, and present, leaving traces of his own actions and sentiments.

Abrahams’ practice is deeply rooted in a fascination with science, particularly the creation of elements. This exploration into the origins of matter and the assembly and perception of the material world profoundly informs his work. Referring to the fact that light is produced during the birth of matter, Abrahams states, “The creation of matter generates the light that allows us to perceive that matter is something that I see as being very poetic and provides me with a source of great inspiration for my work. I’ve always seen the forms in my paintings and the relationships between them as metaphors for that moment of material creation.”

This exhibition features a new series of diptych paintings, 24 Colors for Junichi dedicated to his late friend Junichi. The title references Imi Knoebel’s 24 Colors - for Blinky, created after the untimely death of German painter Blinky Palermo. The initial sketches for these works were drawn during his time spent by his friend’s side in a hospital in Japan. Through this work, Abrahams attempts to represent time as inspired by Aristotle’s concept of time—the vast past behind us and the infinite future ahead, separated by the present moment— by questioning the length of that fleeting moment which divides past from future. Each piece in the series is composed of two panels with different colors, separated by a tiny void. For Abrahams, this void is a crucial component that symbolizes the present moment as a horizon of time. The layering of colors is also significant, with the underpainting beneath the surface suggesting the hidden potential within every moment.

Accompanying the works from his newest series are works from Abrahams’ Sympatheia and Stack Paintings. Sympatheia extracts its name from the philosophical concept of interconnectedness and mutual dependence, where nothing exists in isolation. The paintings draw inspiration from nuclear fusion processes within suns, where atoms merge to form new elements, releasing energy as light. In his Stack Paintings, Abrahams arranges multiple square canvases into a unified monolithic structure. Each component carries its own narrative, shaped by the nuanced interplay between underpainting and colors, often deliberately chosen to be non-complementary. This stacking technique imbues the artworks with heightened vitality, transforming them into vibrant, living forces. Across his different series, Abrahams is in constant search of a delicate balance between stability and tension, aiming to evoke engagement through dynamic contrasts.

For Abrahams, Japan holds a special significance as many ideas for this exhibition originated here. He admires Japan’s meticulous attention to detail, which he believes gives the country its unique sense of dignity. We invite you to immerse yourself in Johnny Abrahams’ contemplative practice, capturing the serene flicker and flow inherent in our universe.

Written by Haruna Takeda

Born in 1979 in Tacoma, WA and currently based in London, Johnny Abrahams constructs his minimalist compositions with bold swathes of color, meticulously executed to produce a striking materiality. The fluid rhythm of his meditative paintings is intermittently disturbed by the occasional void or crevice; the delicate liminal gaps separating distinct geometric forms, whether they be painted shapes or stretched canvases stacked on top of one another, become a point of simultaneous contention and harmony. Abrahams considers these negative spaces—or “secondary images” as he calls them—a key aspect of his continuous pursuit of “an uneasy truce between stability and tension.” The marked tactility of his work, enhanced through the application of dense oil-and-wax paint on naturally porous burlap, humanizes the clinical aspects of hard-edge abstraction by intertwining cerebral concepts with sensory experience.

The artist’s recent solo exhibitions include Sympatheia, Vigo Gallery (London, 2024); Therapy Apple, Vigo Gallery (London, 2023); Will it get some wind for the sails, Sunday-S Gallery (Copenhagen, 2023); Dog’s Dinner, Jack Hanley Gallery (New York, 2023); and Primaries, Romer Young Gallery (San Francisco, 2022). He has shown his work extensively in both solo and group presentations across the globe.