OLIVER ARMS
January 28 – March 6, 2010
Press Release
Informed by the legacy of Abstract Expressionism, in these new works Oliver Arms
re-envisions and redefines the possibilities of painting. In contrast to the effortless spontaneity of Pollock’sdrip paintings, Arms’ abstractions are the result of an exacting, labor intensive process that is as reductive as it is additive. Over a period of months he repeatedly applies thick layers of oil paint to the surface of the canvas, which he allows to dry, and then laboriously sands down. Through this methodical building up and carving away of paint, Arms creates modulating images that challenge the gestalt and present the viewer with mutable clouds of color and texture.