Yulia Pinkusevich: Oblivion Blues

Kutlesa New York proudly presents Oblivion Blues, an exhibition of new works by Oakland-based artist Yulia Pinkusevich, on view from September 24 through November 7, 2026. This presentation marks her inaugural solo show with the gallery.

Featuring large-scale compositions, the exhibition investigates the delicate threshold between abstraction and information, memory and measurement, and the systems designed to record catastrophe. Pinkusevich’s paintings originate in isorithms, which are geometric civil defense diagrams utilized to map explosive events across terrain. Developed in collaboration with GIS and Northeastern University Professor Mark Henderson, these spatial structures are further informed by historic aerial reconnaissance images discovered during her Fellowship at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Born in Kharkiv and raised during the late Soviet era, Pinkusevich grounds her practice in personal history and a formative awareness of geopolitical conflict. Her works translate contemporary data sets and military mapping into intricate fields of ink, oil, acrylic, mineral pigments, mica, and mirrored glass. By painstakingly redrawing these technological systems by hand, she infuses cold calculation with physical presence, transforming mathematical measurement into tactile memory.

Embedded mirrored glass actively engages the viewer by reflecting the surrounding gallery architecture, converting passive observation into intimate proximity. Oblivion Blues navigates the enduring space between remembrance and oblivion, transmuting diagrams of mass destruction into resonant expressions of life, empathy, and human presence. Guests can expect a night of art-filled conversation, white wine, and an opportunity to meet the artist.