Yung Jake Shows at Tripoli Gallery

Tripoli Gallery opens “SPRITES, “a showcase of light paintings created by Yung Jake, with a reception for the artist on Saturday, June 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will be on view from June 13 through July 14.

In the opening of the Disney movie “Flubber” (1997), an over-the-top, clanky, Rube Goldberg-esque machine makes Robin Williams a breakfast of pancakes and eggs. This 1990s analog depiction of the future (today) is continually cited in Yung Jake’s new body of work, “SPRITES.”

Yung Jake uses LED panels, custom circuitry, and looping animations to construct a series of digital compositions. These light paintings display complex cyclical systems built within an 8-bit, 2D environment. Each work presents a sequence of deliberate and efficient tasks that contribute to a wide array of tiny functions, ultimately forming an infinite loop.

One of the works on view, “flubber” (2025), depicts a glowing green elastic slime in motion as it is manipulated and maneuvered through an intricate machine. The same playful logic extends to “gushers” (2025), “Play-Doh” (2025) and “gak” (2025), where each material is processed through a distinct contraption tailored to its form.

These works are rooted in the language of physical materials and analog references. The artist reverts the pixel to its most archaic form. Yung Jake has always shown a proclivity for play. His practice, grounded in the formal discipline of painting, often deconstructs convention by using modalities beyond brush and canvas.

Throughout Yung Jake’s practice, he has discovered ways to communicate, often using waves of nostalgia, that always feel novel. In “SPRITES,” he has created forms of movement, color, and light that, once again, surprise and refresh sensibilities.

Yung Jake received his BFA from California Institute of the Arts in 2012. He’s had 13 solo exhibitions and has been in 20 group shows. He has done performances, lectures, and exhibitions at institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, New York City; the Hammer Museum, The Getty Center, and the LA County Museum in Los Angeles; the San Francisco Art Institute; Bridgehampton Historical Society; and Guild Hall, East Hampton. In 2015, he was awarded the Sundance Institute and Time Warner Fellowship Grant. This will be his fourth solo exhibition with Tripoli Gallery

Tripoli Gallery is at 26 Ardsley Road in Wainscott. For details visit tripoligallery.com.