Jimi Gleason : Surface And Light

The William Turner Gallery is pleased to announce our upcoming solo exhibition, Jimi Gleason : Surface and Light. Jimi Gleason's paintings are enigmatic. They emphasize seductive surfaces, which reveal no trace of traditional paint application. These mysterious surfaces are highly reactive to light, position and viewer - acting as catalysts for shifting perceptions. They are immediately understandable as paintings, though it’s difficult to imagine how they were created. Through the use of non-traditional materials and luminescent silver deposit, Gleason creates works that inspire an intimate reflection on the essence of how we perceive and experience the world around us.

Gleason’s most recent body of work is consistent with the iridescent paintings he has developed over the last decade, but marks a radical departure in execution. Using a silver-deposit surface coat, Gleason creates paintings that are ethereal and glassy - sheets of solid vapor that respond and react to the play of light and their environment. These newest paintings are saturated with brilliant colors - bright coppers, rich ceruleans and glowing golds - adding more depth to the already lustrous surfaces, which seem to emanate light from within.

Uniting hard-edge geometric forms with his sensuously luminous surfaces, Gleason boldly breaks up the picture plane into alternating fields of texture. The effect is a hypnotic and prismatic visual structure, where light, color and form intersect in ever-changing play. These dynamic surfaces engage the viewer and urge them to explore the infinite experiential possibilities of art.

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. The artist’s paintings are actively collected by a growing number of major public and private collections around the world.