Max Gleason: Waves & Particles

Silo118 presents Max Gleason
“Waves and Particles”
Artist reception: March 31, 5-8 p.m.
Exhibition through April 30

Silo118 is privileged to introduce artist Max Gleason in his premier California exhibit. Prior to relocating to this area, Gleason, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, worked and exhibited in New York City and environs until 2015. His work is powerful, mysterious and sensual - part realism, part fantasy, part spiritual - all coalescing in an astonishing visual feast.

“Tsunami” is oil and mixed media, including origami paper dots. Gleason writes, “The dots are a visual symbol of energy flow, most of which is not readily visible. I have attempted to render those invisible energies in a visual medium…paper dots, gold paint, oil paint, etc. Ultimately it speaks to the transcendent existence that we experience every day, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.”

Alan Watts* said that every human being is a manifestation of the energy of the universe. And when one makes a connection with another human being, it is like "the universe waving at me with you.” Thus the ‘wave’ - the ‘tsunami.’

The woman in the painting is the artist’s wife, his muse. We, the spectator, understand that we are seeing energy move through her; the artist has shown us visually what we previously have only imagined.

On a technical level, the creation and application of the dots took the artist more than 100 hours to complete.

Brief artist background:
Gleason attended Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where he received a BFA in Sculpture (Class of 2002), also pursuing painting and film/video studies.
From 2002 through 2015, Gleason built his painting practice and completed the “Sing to Me” film trilogy in New York. He maintained studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Navy Yards, Chinatown and Manhattan.
In 2016 Gleason moved to the west coast countryside to enjoy the space, tranquility, and natural beauty. He works out of a large studio perched on the precipice of a ravine in California’s Santa Ynez Valley.
Gleason has had many exhibitions in New York City, Boston and more.

*(British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience)