Invisible Rituals — a group exhibit featuring work by noted artists Flying Knight (aka Jayda Knight,) Jun Kuang, Joe Velez and Wei Yan — deftly explores the ways in which perception shapes aspects of contemporary representational painting. Where pattern, repetition and atmosphere appear vibrantly in the paintings and mixed-media work by Flying Knight (aka Jayda Knight) and Jun Kuang, works by Joe Velez and Wei Yan display a keen, concentrated self-awareness and psychological depth. Works by Velez present nuanced yet structured subject matter, while in Yan’s paintings, subjects appear contorted or concealed. Figuration forms the crux of the exhibit, while meaning appears clouded under the auspice of mystery: intimated by a knowing glance, a gesture, a curve, or en edge. Each artwork appears to hold the truth just out of reach, whether behind patterns, a turned shoulder, or just beyond the horizon line.
Where Velez suffuses his subjects with expressions that intimate a deep longing or self-confidence, aligned with Old Masters portrait painters such as Diego Velazquez and Francisco Goya, other artworks on view take a more oblique approach. Wei Yan’s paintings depict inscrutable figures whose bodies are obscured or only partially revealed. Her adroit curvilinear sensibilities only add to the sense of deliberate obfuscation embedded within these compositions. Unnatural colors and curves meander through Jun Kuang’s otherworldly compositions, while Flying Knight combines disparate elements to form unified and unexpected whole tableaux that feel mythic yet germane to our present day moment. Each artist perceives aspects of the world around them and shapes a visual experience for the viewer that feels prescient and fantastical, yet furtive. On view from May 28 – July 4, 2026, this daring and curious group survey explores contemporary approaches to representational painting ripe with a sense of curiosity, questioning us to reflect on the ways in which we view the world we inhabit: both the reality in front of our eyes and the version that is shaped by our imagination.
Exhibition Dates
May 28 – July 4, 2026
Gallery Hours
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Wednesday | 10:30AM – 6PM
Opening Reception
Thursday, May 28, 2026 | From 6PM
Artists
Flying Knight (aka Jayda Knight)
Jun Kuang
Joe Velez
Wei Yan
Venue
150 W 25th, #403
New York, NY 10001
RSVP Contact
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About the Artists
Flying Knight (aka Jayda Knight) received both Fine Art and Architecture degrees from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Flying Knight (aka Jayda Knight) is a British and Kurdish multidisciplinary artist whose conceptual approach spans sociocultural realities, enmeshing these commentaries within a stylistic and deceptively ornamental art lexicon. Knight is a grant recipient of the Gottlieb foundation and the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs and her work is held by the Coral Gables Museum, the RISD museum and in other private collections.
Jun Kuang was born in China and now living and working in the United States, Kuang is a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in sculpture. A co-founder of the UNMASK art group, the artist has shown regularly across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the United States, with recent exhibits at Michael Ku Gallery (Taipei) and Space Station (Beijing.)
Joe Velez lives and works in Jersey City, NJ. He is a self-taught artist and educator who has exhibited across the Tri-state and Pennsylvania, with teaching credits at art institutions including the Jersey City Art School, The Hudson School, the Baird and others. His , work has been exhibited at commercial galleries, university galleries, museums and nonprofit art spaces, and he was recently featured in both Bold Journey Magazine and the Jersey City Times, with a front page feature.
Wei Yan is a figurative painter who holds a BFA, Tsinghua Academy of Art & Design (Beijing.) Wei has exhibited across China as well as in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States. A recipient of the New Jersey Arts Council’s individual artist fellowship and the New Jersey Art & Culture Renewal fund grant, Yan is also an artist in residence for 14C art fair in Jersey City (2026.) Exploring the tension between our inner worlds and public personal socioculturally within the context of the artist’s own upbringing between Northeastern China and Beijing, she now makes her home in the United States. The artist’s work is held in public and private art collections including the Shanghai Art Museum.
About The Gallery
Founded in 2018, VillageOneArt Gallery is a women-led contemporary art space founded by gallerist Vivienne Yang and curator Christy Qin in the neighborhood of Chelsea, NYC, showcasing works from local and international artists of diverse backgrounds. The gallery’s foundational principles are established upon exploring the infinite bounds of human imagination through expansive and innovative mediums. VillageOneArt Gallery serves as a necessary bridge between art and the public sphere, with a soul reflecting the evolving spirit of our era. Each exhibition sparks a temporal and cultural dialogue, inviting rich reflection and thought-provoking perspectives.
(text & photo courtesy of VillageOneArt)
