Aaron Koehn

106 Green is proud to present Tongue and Groove, an exhibition of new paintings by Aaron Koehn.

Aaron Koehn’s paintings begin with observations of handmade geometries. Often tiled floors or bathroom walls, these readymade compositions, mostly overlooked, are places for scrutiny and experience for Koehn. Their more subtle details and flaws become the highlighted focus in these large paintings.

Koehn’s squeegeed acrylic layers are meticulously built up and then sanded, and in the end, display little trace of his hand. The paint here relates to building materials. It has replaced the tiles with its own smooth presence. These homages to builders are seamless, but maintain the visual irregularities of their original, anonymous sources.

In this body of work, the grid is impossible to ignore. It has become slightly scrambled, the intention in the original source is obvious, but human error, or maybe just wear and tear, is at the forefront. It’s a beautiful affirmation of work, utility, and imperfection.

“My interest in the handwork of others comes from a desire to elevate the unintentional mark of the working hand, the manual laborer – a gesture that is not concerned with aesthetics or form, but rather the function of materials within a space and its use…”

Aaron Koehn lives and works in Ridgewood, Queens and is originally from Cleveland, OH. He received his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2014. He has recently shown his work at Brennan + Griffin Gallery, NY, Burrard Arts Foundation, Vancouver, B.C. and William Busta Gallery, Cleveland, OH. His work was featured in Issue 4 of Maake Magazine, New American Paintings Northeast Edition (2017) and the MFA Edition in both 2013 and 2014.