Exhibition - Pamela Jorden: Gemels

Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery will open Gemels, Pamela Jorden’s ninth solo exhibition with the gallery. This exhibition also celebrates the 20th anniversary of both the gallery’s founding and Jorden’s New York debut at the gallery in 2004.

A gemel is a botanical term describing the anomaly of two trees fusing into one and sharing a vascular system. The suggestion of this phenomenon resonates throughout Jorden’s newest works, where two vertically stretched canvases are conjoined to form a single piece. A sense of merging is perhaps most apparent in the exhibition’s title work, in which the two halves meet at their base and seem to grow independently, yet in relation to one another in both form and surface.

Other works in the show also explore the interaction between two parts. In Bow, two sides are connected by a convex curve and bisected by a triangular shape. The painted surface exhibits physical tension and movement between the two elements. In Green blue walking, the dual forms move in tandem, yet remain distinct, like two separate bodies on a shared path. Air for roses suggests a fluctuating relationship between object and illusion, its color scheme enhancing the interplay of closely fitted elements.

Jorden draws inspiration from the landscape and urban environment of Los Angeles, where she lives, with recent attention to Southern California’s flora. These influences materialize in her work, conveying a sense of time and transformation through an actively layered painting process.

Pamela Jorden’s first solo exhibition in New York debuted on November 6, 2004, at Klaus von Nichtssagend’s inaugural show in Brooklyn. Two decades later, her latest exhibition celebrates not only her continued practice but also her dedication to experimentation within abstraction. Early in her career, Jorden established her distinctive approach to mark-making with rectilinear canvases, exploring unconventional lines and compositions. Over time, she expanded beyond the rectangle, embracing round, irregular, and multi-panel surfaces, where the very frame conveys movement and gesture. Today, her work continues to evolve, dancing between experimental mark-making and dynamic structure.

Pamela Jorden (b. 1969, Knoxville, TN) received a BFA from the University of Tennessee in 1992 and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts in 1996. Jorden has had recent solo and group exhibitions at RISD Museum (Providence, RI), Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Romer Young Gallery (San Francisco, CA); Brennan & Griffin (New York, NY); Pizzuti Collection (Columbus, OH); Mason Gross Art Gallery at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ); Her work has been featured in numerous publications such as Artforum, Art in America, The Brooklyn Rail, The New York Observer, and Artnews.