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.