b. 1961, Newport Beach, CA

The surfaces of Jimi Gleason’s paintings have always responded to both the light and space of the environment they are in.  Working with shimmery pearlescent paint, he carefully builds up layers that shift subtly.  Many of his works feature densely worked edges framing largely vacant centers, to keep the focus firmly on the quality of the color and light and on the viewer’s own perception of them.  While his works seem to derive from color field painting or contemporary abstraction, Gleason’s inspiration for his approach came from photography.  “Being a painter in SoHo, in the late ‘80s, I kept seeing these Cibachrome prints, big shiny photos.  I wanted to bring some of that back into painting, to steal it back,” Gleason said.  He was especially intrigued by the texture of Polaroid snapshots.  “What I liked about the Polaroids was the edges, the way the emulsion got squishy, that melted quality.  That’s a big part of where hey began, where the edges came into play.”  The reflective property of the material play with color and light according to the work’s surroundings and the viewer’s perspective; nuances of texture, color, and tone emerge and shift through that interaction. 

Jimi Gleason’s work is included in the collections of Dakota Studios, New York; Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA; Hilton Headquarters, McLean, VA; Sun America, Kaufman Broad Home Corporation, Los Angeles, CA; as well as numerous private collections.  Jimi Gleason lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.