“3 Ways” is an exhibition of paintings by Thomas Zitzwitz, Judith Foosaner and Jimi Gleason. Though very diverse in their execution of these abstract works, an underlying commonality is each artist’s penchant for activating surfaces. Foosaner’s black, white and gray works embrace bimorphic forms and calligraphic marks. Often including layers of collage, these paintings also include mark-making lines and gestural brushstrokes within their repetitively patterned shapes. This produces a consistent fluidity and rhythm. In contrast to Foosaner’s black and white palette, Zitzwitz’s works embody luscious colors, aided by the reflective effects of fluorescent acrylic pigments. The surfaces contain activated movements that are layered using various tools that have been scraped and pulled across the canvases. There is luminous shimmering light revealed between the layers, enhancing the artist’s mark-making and bold color palette. Gleason’s works also use reflective iridescent paints to create surfaces that display a play of light, but in a subdued and meditative manner that offers the eye a quiet entrance. Once there, the color emerges from layers of paint, and the reflective quality of light is visible as we shift position in front of the paintings. Also included are two large works using silver deposits and acrylic that produce a glowing and mirrored surface. These artists’ works result from an array of materials and processes that offer a sense of the many differing forms of abstract expression that may be achieved through paint.
