For his second solo show with Jupiter and first exhibition in New York, Paul Verdell takes inspiration from the word 'tabernacle' to direct his artistic practice. This new body of work features a dynamic array of large- and small-scale paintings, each animated by the artist’s intuitive command of color and form. In Tabernacle, the layered, abstract compositions simmer with kinetic energy, their shared rhythm merging into a space that feels both sacred and alive.
Verdell first encountered the exhibition’s titular word “tabernacle” on a small church he passed on his regular visits to the art store. He liked the word for its simple phonetic appeal—for the way it “rolls off the tongue so smoothly.” Later, he discovered its meaning—a portable sanctuary—and immediately thought of his artistic practice—his studio, a refuge; his paint and brushes, instruments of worship.
The works in Tabernacle strike a commanding balance between aesthetic beauty and emotional depth. Each painting blends compositional intensity with intimate intricacy, asserting a gravitational pull on its viewer who, sensing that they are part of a whispered exchange in a crowded room, surrenders willingly to its world. In this way, Verdell’s paintings become devotional offerings to their beholder; each one is, at once, a window into his sanctuary and a tabernacle for the viewer—a refuge into which one may settle, allowing the unhurried pleasure of seeing to unfold into poignant resonance.