Jimi Gleason

"In Gleason’s deliciously unnatural abstractions, the devil is not in the details only because diabolical beauty spills so profusely from every nook and cranny.  His densely textured surfaces are a cornucopia of unimaginable delights." - Art Critic DAVID PAGEL (Los Angeles Times)

Jimi Gleason's reflected and light transmitted paintings emphasize seductive surfaces, nontraditional materials and the luminescent use of silver deposit to catalyze intimate reflection on the mechanics of perception.

Jimi Gleason has spent his career exploring the reflective possibilities of a painterly surface. “By using an iridescent surface coat, I have managed to create visual spaces that respond to both the play of light and the location of the viewer,” he says. Mixing nontraditional materials such as silver deposit with acrylic paints, Gleason’s surfaces are highly reactive to light and shifts in the viewer’s position. 

To achieve his luminous surfaces, Gleason utilizes industrial materials - silver nitrate to be exact - in a process he’s been investigating and applying for over a decade. Performing an act of sheer alchemy, Gleason treats acrylic-coated canvases with a chemical mixture, which he then sprays with silver nitrate solution, transforming the surfaces into sterling sheets of metal.

His silver deposit surfaces act as enigmatic mirrors that are activated by the viewer and the environment they are situated in. Light, color and form are injected into the paintings via the external world - through this movement, Gleason hopes to induce a meditative experience for his viewers.

Jimi Gleason was born and raised in Southern California. He graduated with a BA in Fine Art from UC Berkeley in 1985, later moving to New York. Upon his return to California, Jimi worked as a studio assistant for renowned abstract painter, Ed Moses.

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