“Abstract painting is the most confusing dilemma I have encountered. This confusion motivates me,” says Steven Charles, who decided to devote his life to painting at 13 and has been single-mindedly pursuing his passion since the mid-1990s. He works intuitively, often starting with a single mark, like a drip or splash of pigment, and adding such mixed materials as fur or glitter, from which he builds up his compositions. Ranging from small- to large-scale, his works possess thick surfaces that burst with color, pattern, and gesture. For his small-scale pieces, he works rapidly, often on found scraps of wood whose shapes dictate the scope of his compositions. His large-scale works can take him up to three years to complete. In all of them, Charles aims to reflect his high-energy, culturally voracious approach to painting and life.