JULIAN JACKSON at Kathryn Markel

Julian Jackson, Crossing Green, 2012, 78 x 78 inches, oil on canvas 

Julian Jackson is showing a group of twenty new paintings, titled Crossings, at Kathryn Markel in Chelsea, through June 16, 2012. The title calls attention to the grid which in these new paintings assumes a more prominent role, echoing not only the edges of the square formats, but beyond that, the architectural environment to which painting is historically and inextricably wedded. Employing ambiguous veils of softly modulated color, the artist creates scenarios of constantly shifting planes and spaces, like urban landscapes dissolved into pure light, that draw the viewer into their sensuous atmospheres. Subtle contrasts of value and hue coalesce into dynamic rhythms that are often punctuated by small percussive chunks of saturated color as the underlying structure opens out into an undulating ether.

Julian Jackson, Crossing Grey, 2012, 78 x 78 inches, oil on canvas 

Julian Jackson, Crossing White, 2012, 54 x 54 inches, oil on canvas 

Julian Jackson, Crossing Air, 2012, 36 x 36 inches, oil on canvas

JULIAN JACKSON at Kathryn Markel

Julian Jackson, Ariel, 2009, 56 x 48 inches, oil on wood

Just opened at Kathryn Markel in Chelsea (through February 6), Julian Jackson is showing a gorgeous new group of paintings that seem to be lit from within. The show's title, Will 'O the Wisp, refers to the phenomenon of naturally occurring phosphorescence that perfectly embodies Julian's intent. Painted on panels with beveled back edges, these pieces appear to hover in front of the wall, and the smooth surfaces look as though the color is somehow invested rather than applied. Built out of layers of overlapping rectangles, the compositions are as solid as urban landscapes, but the spaces are absolutely etherial. Nuanced contrasts in value, saturation, warmth and coolness, make the color relations undulate, pulling us into a soft and constantly shifting space that is as disorienting as it is seductive. These works gracefully perform an almost impossible transformation of the material elements of painting into a pure experience of luminescence.