Bay Area artist Nellie King Solomon opens an exhibition of new paintings at Brian Gross Fine Art on Thursday, September 9, with a reception for the artist from 5:30-7:30pm. Continuing the artist’s exploration of movement and chance through energetic, gestural abstractions on mylar, these dramatic new works reflect Solomon’s “experiences of great western landscapes, interior and exterior terrains, [and] the shock of unabsorbed events.” The exhibition continues through October 30, 2010.

In her recent work, Solomon explores vibrant new color palettes in magenta, fluorescent orange, and Hooker’s green. Working on a large table and using custom-made glass trowels, the artist applies pigment to thick sheets of mylar in broad, sweeping gestures. Bold, deliberate strokes merge with Solomon’s signature pours and drips, while large, opaque areas give way to thin, iridescent skim coats. An intentionally uneven work surface creates unpredictable pools and flows, adding an element of chance to otherwise calculated compositions.

Solomon uses unconventional materials to create luminous, shimmering surfaces. In places, the paint glitters as if sprinkled with diamond dust, while other areas appear corroded, as if dripped with battery acid. Close inspection reveals microcosmic topographies and tiny “geological eruptions.” The translucency of the mylar support lends the paintings a unique luminescence, “allow[ing] the edges to disappear into the wall and light to penetrate through clear pools of medium. The paintings subvert architecture, each pour and ring tears a hole through the wall.”

Nellie King Solomon was born in San Francisco, California in 1971. She received her MFA from California College of the Arts and her BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has exhibited throughout the United States. This is Solomon’s third solo exhibition at Brian Gross Fine Art.