2 February – 1 April 2024

opening reception: February 2nd from 6:00-9:00 PM

Marginal Utility and 2C books are proud to present Text-Based Drawings, an exhibition of works on paper and plywood by the Philadelphia-based artist C.J. Stahl.

Stahl’s drawings present an interplay between large fonts and forms found in wood grain. The words in the works are sourced from Anarchist zines, critical theory, local periodicals, and protest graffiti. Stahl is interested in encouraging a slower viewing and reading by playing with the openness and density of the layered text, line breaks, flipping of the text, flipping of the paper so that it reads in multiple directions, and creating a page space that distilled into bold, graphic imagery.