Zak Prekop
Zak Prekop (b. 1979, Chicago) is a Hudson Valley-based painter known for his intricate, nonrep- resentational 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).
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 through compositional strategies that balance spontaneity with meticulous, decisive mark-making. His works bring to- gether seemingly contrasting approaches, from the impulsive, expressive nature of action paint- ing to the precise, optical effects of hard-edge geometric compositions. In doing so, they create an awareness of time as viewers decipher the artist’s actions and the different speeds embedded within the works.
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 connec- tion to time-based media, such as music and film.” The exhibition’s title, *Durations*, empha- sizes the time spent painting, the varying speeds of execution, and the viewer’s perception of the work, engaging with its temporal depth.
