Civic Center, New York
Justin Adian
Shape of Noise
Alex BernsJustin Adian’s Shape of Noise consists of five paintings, abstract and open to their less than subjective thingness. A synesthesia of animism and tonality; visual and auditory. Thrall (2025) calls the inaudible murmurs of old gods. Midlife Crisis (2025) has the static of white noise, or the silent terror of the Backrooms, a fictional location from a 2019 4chan thread. Barrel Bag (2025) at once a Louis V; compact mirror inside and ballistics touching flesh. Neither novel nor harkening, these paintings supersede that notion of contemporary history or fashion, landing them in an area that is contemporary.