Samuel Jablon

Samuel Jablon’s artistic practice is firmly rooted in poetry, a constant source of inspiration for him as he seeks to explore the dynamic interplay between language and materiality. His paintings combine elements of adult malaise with romanticized childhood memories, resulting in a palpable tension between words and materiality that is deeply embedded in poetic verse. Some of his titles exude innocence and beauty, such as 'Honey on My Tongue' and 'Washed by Sun,' while others, like 'Death is Elsewhere' and 'Comfort Can Fuck Itself,' convey a sense of nihilism. Through his work, Jablon creates a psychoanalytic wormhole that transports the viewer from benign critical designations to mundane anxieties and fever dreams. His use of oil stick results in a spontaneous and harmonious convergence of colors, while the blocky capital letters, which are anthropomorphic and aggressive, scream at the viewer. However, Jablon intentionally obscures the potential meaning and initial understanding of his works through the strategic use of visual information. ...

Ballon Rouge began as a nomadic gallery in September of 2017. In our first two years we put up exhibitions in Istanbul, London, Los Angeles, Brussels, Sao Paulo, Paris, and New York. Each of the cities we visited was stewarded by a ‘collective member’ - a curator who introduced us to artists and to their respective city’s art scene. In March of 2019 we made Brussels our home city, inaugurating our permanent space. While we will continue to do shows abroad alongside our collective members, our primary location is now Brussels. Besides our own exhibitions, the space in Brussels sometimes hosts invited international galleries to show with us in exchange for a show of ours at theirs - a further continuation of our ethos of collaboration and collectivity. So far we have collaborated or will soon collaborate with Hannah Barry Gallery (London); Melange (Cologne); Galerist (Istanbul); Gallery Artbeat, (Tbilisi); the Pill (Istanbul); Pi Artworks (Istanbul, London); Vitrine (London, Basel). ...