Zak Prekop: Durations

June 8, 2025 to January 11, 2026 | Balcony Gallery, South Gallery

Zak Prekop's practice focuses on bold abstract compositions and the materiality of paint. For more than two decades, he has explored painting's ability to compress time by developing compositional strategies that balance spontaneity with meticulous, decisive mark-making. His works collapse multiple interpretations—such as the impulsive, expressive nature of action painting and the precise, optical effects of hard edge geometric compositions—creating an awareness of time as viewers decipher the artist’s actions.

For this exhibition, Prekop presents thirteen paintings in the Museum’s Balcony and South galleries, all executed by the artist in the year leading up to the exhibition. His layered compositions evoke cartographic and geological forms, references that are characterized by an almost incomprehensible accumulation of time.

Speaking about his own work, Prekop explains, “I refer to my paintings as measures of time. They measure the labor involved, the coexistence of different speeds at which various elements are executed, and time’s relationship to a viewer’s perception of the work, establishing a connection to time-based media, such as music and film.” The exhibition's title, Durations, emphasizes the time spent painting, varying speeds of execution, and its perception, engaging viewers with its temporal depth.

The catalogue will include a series of interviews conducted in the months leading up to the exhibition, offering deeper insights into Prekop’s creative process.

This exhibition is organized by Eduardo Andres Alfonso, Associate Curator.

Artist Bio

Zak Prekop (b. 1979, Chicago) is a Hudson Valley-based painter known for his intricate, nonrepresentational works. He holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a degree from Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Städelschule, Frankfurt, Germany, and a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. Prekop’s solo exhibitions include Maxwell Graham Gallery, New York, NY (2024); Galería Marta Cervera, Madrid, Spain (2022); Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL (2019); and Hagiwara Projects, Tokyo, Japan (2014 and 2019). His work is held in collections at the Walker Art Center, the Columbus Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. Notable group exhibitions include Greater New York at PS1, Long Island City, NY (2005); Basic Matters: Substance in Contemporary Art at the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (2023); and File Under Freedom at Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen, Norway (2022).

Press Release

Funders

Generous support for Zak Prekop is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Significant support is provided by Ellen and Andrew Celli. Additional support is provided by an anonymous donor and Kristina and Philip Larson. The catalogue is supported by the Eric Diefenbach and James Keith Brown Publications Fund. Production support is provided by the Diana Bowes and Jim Torrey Commissions Fund.

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