The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present a new body of work by Paul Verdell. In these gestural paintings, Verdell continues his exploration of loose and instinctive mark making, working with paint and collaged elements. These works become renditions of landscapes both visually and figuratively as the colors and forms subtly echo horizons and map Verdell’s mental terrain. Driven by intuition, his latest body of work delves deep into the realm of abstraction as the artist explores capabilities of medium and mind. Influencing the artist’s conceptual root is both internal discourse—an ongoing attempt to understand himself within a shifting and uncertain world through the act of painting—as well as his Black American heritage.

Verdell is a painter based in Detroit. Originally from Long Beach, California, he moved to Ohio as a teenager and received a BFA from Bowling Green State University in 2018. He has been awarded residencies at Black Rock Senegal, Dakar, Senegal, and the Macedonia Institute, Chatham, New York. His work has been included in exhibitions at The Armory Show, New York; Hurst Contemporary, London; and the Dakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal, among others. Verdell’s work is held in the collections of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio, among others.

OPENING NIGHT / Friday, March 13

Member & Sponsor Preview: 5-6 pm
Public Reception: 6-8 pm
Remarks: 6:30 pm

CLOSING RECEPTION / Saturday, June 6

4-6p – Light Refreshments and a final chance to view the exhibition.

This exhibition is one of three concurrent exhibitions of new and recent work by Detroit-based artists, curated by Heather Jones, and presented to spark dialogue around the art and artists of our time.

Image: Paul Verdell, Vein In Vain, 2025, acrylic, oil, and collage on canvas, 78 x 120 inches.
Courtesy of the artist and Library Street Collective.