JIMI GLEASON REFLECTED & ABSORBED
WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY
JIMI GLEASON REFLECTED & ABSORBED
Automatic Slims, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 102 inches
REFLECTED & ABSORBED
T
he William Turner Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings by Southern California based artist, Jimi Gleason. Intrigued by the interlinking phenomena of perception, environment and engagement, Gleason presents two distinct bodies of work, Reflected and Absorbed, inviting the viewer to experience the paintings in this exhibition in entirely different ways. The Reflected paintings are consistent with the ultra sleek, silver deposit pieces that Gleason has been producing for the past decade, but, in a departure from his previous work, the artist has invoked the grid as a way to re-order and disrupt these luminous surfaces. While the grid marked a radical way for the avant-garde artists of the early 20th century to break free from the tradition of representational painting, Gleason’s interpretation is fascinating because his reflective surfaces actually re-introduce the human figure into these abstractions. Gleason’s multi-textural surfaces are broken up into hard-edge geometric fields that oscillate between blocks of mirror-like sheen and gritty texture. The effect is dazzling - the pieces act as fractured mirrors that simultaneously reflect and obscure the environment around them. The tumbling, rectangular forms shimmering across Gleason’s Untitled, echo the elegantly stacked shapes of Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist compositions, while the asymmetrical checkerboard surface of one of his lustrous silver pieces recalls the reductive constructions of Piet Mondrian, though Gleason’s pieces feel entirely contemporary due to his masterful use of non-traditional materials. Like the Reflected paintings, the Absorbed pieces are achieved using Gleason’s signature technique of deploying a thin coat of silver nitrate deposit over acrylic on canvas. Diverging from their ultra-gloss predecessors, however, Gleason has mutated the surface of the Absorbed pieces so that the reflective quality of the silver nitrate is transformed into a pearlescent glow. Applying a prismatic array of hues, these paintings become all about color and texture. By obstructing any reflected imagery, these pieces are in essence, pure abstraction. Gleason’s application of thickly impasto acrylic coupled with the delicious spectrum of vaporous jewel tones that seem to float just above the surface delight the senses. The colors appear to shift as the viewer moves around the paintings while the churning surface textures make them appear as if they are perpetually in motion. Born in Newport Beach, CA, Gleason received his BA from UC Berkeley in 1985. He studied printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute before relocating to New York City, where he worked as a photo assistant and photo technician. Returning to California, Gleason was employed in the studio of Ed Moses for five years. Combining the disparate technical and compositional skills developed during his exposure to printmaking, photography and mixed-media painting, Gleason is now the subject of considerable curatorial and critical applause. His work is exhibited in significant public institutions, including the Armand Hammer Museum, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art and the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation.
Save The Robots, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 102 inches
Nick, 2017, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
Installation: Save The Robots & Pali Gap
IN PRACTICE: ALCHEMY Jimi Gleason’s work rests firmly in the intersection between creativity and science. Alchemy lies at the core of the complicated process that turns silver into paint.
Pali Gap, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 84 inches
al·che·my alkəmē/
noun noun: alchemy 1 the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir. 2 synonyms: 3 chemistry; Moremagic, sorcery, witchcraft “immortality through alchemy” 4 a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.”finding the person who’s right for you requires a very subtle alchemy”
Jimi Gleason’s paintings are made of metal. Silver nitrate, the compound element that Jimi uses to coat his acrylic paintings, is by no means easy to come by. The production of silver nitrate begins with solid bar of silver that is dissolved in concentrated nitric acid. Once the nitric acid has evaporated the compound element, silver nitrate (a white powdery solid) remains. Silver nitrate is mixed with sodium hydroxide to create silver oxide which is dissolved in ammonium to create a compound that can be applied to the surface of the canvas with, in Jimi’s case, an airbrush. Adhering the silver compound requires applying three separate surface coatings over the painted and masked ground. The first is a clear acid bath that microscopically etches the surface which allows the silver to adhere. The next spray is the silver compound. It is clear and the silver can not be seen until a developing agent is added. The third clear spray is the developing agent followed by an iodized water bath to halt the developing process. Finally, if end result is to be a colored metallic surface, Jimi dusts fine sprays of transparent acrylic paint onto the metallic silver surface. This complex, expensive and time consuming process gives these paintings a look that is both fresh and unique to Jimi’s studio practice.
Installation: Tribeca, Q Train & Save the Robots
Q Train, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 53 x 48 inches
Tribeca, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 53 x 48 inches
Installation: Chelsea & Gold KENMcKEN
Installation: Gold KENMcKEN, Plane Image, Q Train, Tribeca
Gold KENMcKEN , 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 48 x 144 inches
Chelsea, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 66 x 54 inches
Plane Image, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 66 x 54 inches
Installation: Automatic Slims & Chelsea
Brooklyn Bridge, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 90 inches
Doc Martens, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 90 inches
Installation: Brooklyn Bridge & Doc Martens
StraTo-Kine, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Installation - 3rd Stone, StraTo-Kine & Pali Gap
3rd Stone, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 49 inches
6was9, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 53 x 48 inches
Crazy Horse, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 66 x 54 inches
Scarletts Gold, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 30 x 60 inches
Rainbow Bridge, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 24 x 16 inches
Pink Shell, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 18 x 15 inches
VaSa, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
PetrAleXndR, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 18 x 15 inches
Wyeth, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 18” x 15”
K*StaR, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 12 x 17 inches
Berlants Dream, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 inches
ToriGirL, 2017, silver deposit and acrylic on canvas, 18 x 15 inches
CV: Jimi Gleason EDUCATION 1985-86 1985
San Francisco Art Institute B.A. University of California Berkeley
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 1999 1994 1992 1990 1988 1987
William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ Toomey-Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA Toomey-Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Samuel Freeman, Los Angeles, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Toomey-Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Liquid Light , R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Kidder-Smith Gallery, Boston, MA Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Works on Paper, Philadelphia, PA LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Toomey-Tourell Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Kidder-Smith Gallery, Boston, MA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA New Urban Art, Phoenix, AZ Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Edward Giardina Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA Dakota Studio, New York, NY 637 Gallery, New York, NY SFA, New York, NY The World, New York, NY Clancy Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2017 Los Angeles Painting: Formalism to Street Art, Bruno David Gallery, St Louis,MO 2016 Strata, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2015 Regularly Speaking, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix AZ 2014 Green Heaven, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA Now and Then, LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM Skin Deep, William Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2013 20th Anniversary group show, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA THICK, a group show, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, California. USA The 10th Circle, Vast Space Projects, Henderson, NV Liquid Pop, Koki Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan Winter Group Show, LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2012 MIXED MEDIA, a group show, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, California 2011 Winter Group Show, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2010 Elements of Nature, Selections from the Frederick Weisman Art Foundation, Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, LA “JUST ENOUGH” a group show, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, California 2009 WELL-TEMPERED, A Group Show , R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA Royale Projects, Palm Desert, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA The Surface of Space II, Phantom Galleries, Long Beach, CA 2008 2332, Huntington Bach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA. Liquid Light, MODAA, Culver City, CA. Supermarket, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA. The Surface of Space, Pharmaka Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2007 In Focus, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA Liquid Light,, dba Gallery 256, Pomona, CA An Eclectic Eye: Selections from the Dan Leach Collection, Tucson, AZ West Coast Abstraction, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA ABSTRACT Gallery Selections, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA Pink, Soho Myriad, Atlanta GA Palette to Palate, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA REPRISE, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA 2006 Abstraction Reduced to White, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA One Shot, LA X ART, Los Angeles, CA Summer Group Show, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Nice Work if You Can Get It, Mandarin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Pink III, Arena One Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Jimi Gleason and Thomas Zitwitz, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA Grey Scale, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2005 Incognito, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA Abstract Los Angeles, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA Mass {RE}Production, College of Santa Fe, NM 20/20 Visions, I-5 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Pink, Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Small Works Exhibit, Lew Allen Contemporary, NM
2004 Big & Holy, Cartelle Gallery, Los Angeles, CA BIG,� Toomey-Tourell Fine Art, 511 Harrison, San Francisco, CA The OsCene, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Twentieth Anniversary Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Ed Moses and Jimi Gleason, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA Abstract Los Angeles, Soho Myriad Gallery, Atlanta, GA Heavens Gonna Burn Your Eyes, Cartelle Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Modes and Methods, Contemporary Art Museum, Amarillo, Texas Pink, Cartelle Gallery, Los Angeles, CA White on White, Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2003 Painting Today, The Art Institute of California Orange County, Santa Ana, CA 9th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Black and White, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA SOULdiers, SCA Gallery, Pomona, CA Art X, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA 2002 No Pictures Here-Non-Objective Painting from Los Angeles, dA Center For The Arts Pomona, CA California Dream, Museum I Magli, Sarezzo (Brescia), Italy California Dream, Museum Forno Fusoria, Tavernole (Brescia), Italy Minimal Works, ANDLAB Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 8th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2001 Rising Tide, Southern California Abstraction 2001, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA Group Show, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA 7th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2000 10 Degrees of Abstraction, Biola University Gallery, La Mirada, CA Emulsion, POST, Los Angeles, CA Group Show, Andrew-Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Black and White, Splendid, Brooklyn, NY Nice work if you can get it, Holly Matter Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA SELECTED COLLECTIONS Glenn Schaeffer, Las Vegas, NV Sun America / Kaufman Broad Home Corporation, Los Angeles, CA Larry Bell, Venice, CA Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. The Dan Leach Collection, Tucson, AZ. Dakota Studios, New York, NY The Voit Companies, Newport Beach, CA The MGM Grand, Detroit, Michigan Tony Venegas, Los Angeles, CA Howard and Jan Hendler, Phoenix, AZ Dominic and Jennifer Surprenant, Malibu, CA Grant LeDuc, New York, NY Rick Gennett, West Chester, PA Beryl Cowley, Beverly Hills, CA Dave and Marion Peterson, Minneapolis, MN Pietro Monopoli, Pavia, Italy Heather Harmon, Santa Monica, CA Mitch Coodley, New York, NY Kenneth and Guadalupe McKenzie, Brooklyn, NY