EXPO Chicago 2025

Chicago, IL

Booth 236

April 24 - 27, 2025

The Pit is delighted to present a solo presentation of new paintings by Sam Jablon, his second with the gallery.

Mentored by figures such as Anne Waldman, Amiri Baraka, Vito Acconci, and Bob Holman, Jablon’s background lives in poetry as much as in painting. The text collapses into the painting, vacillating between legibility and illegibility as the colors, gestures, and marks take precedence — the structural compositions speaking to a history of abstraction rooted in process and mark making.

This body of work is loosely rooted in themes of lightness and frivolity with mantras such as “No Bad Days” and “Don’t Panic” adding both humor and levity to the work.

The paintings are in part an exploration of language itself and our collective experiences, fears, and desires reduced to simple words and phrases written, erased and repeated in a gesture of oscillating cynicism and optimism - this time with optimism taking the forefront. For Jablon each exhibition or body of work hung together act as a nonlinear poem, composed subconsciously by the viewer as they create their own route through the space. Each painting can be read individually or in combination with others, adding a complexity to the meaning of the words and creation of phrases. But they can also not be read at all - acting instead purely as structure for paintings––with a process-driven focus.

VIP Preview (Invitation Only):

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Opening Night:

Thursday, April 24, 2025 | 5:00–8:00pm

Open to the Public:

Friday, April 25, 2025 | 11:00am – 7:00pm
Saturday, April 26, 2025 | 11:00am – 7:00pm
Sunday, April 27, 2025 | 11:00am – 6:00pm

For more information email us at info@the-pit.la