When it comes to colors, people are, simply put, fascinated. Countless books have been penned in the pursuit of understanding various their meanings; artists have spent lifetimes pursuing slight nuances and interactions; physicists and chemists have broken down color’s chemical and perceptual properties.  

Now, “Color Theory,” a new exhibition at Bentley Gallery in Phoenix, has taken artists’ obsession with the subject as its organizing principle, bringing together works by artists whose practices center on experiments with color, including Jimi Gleason, Andy Moses, Nellie King Solomon, Jeremy Thomas, Jennifer Wolf, and Donald Martiny. 

Installation view “Color Theory” 2021. Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

In its entirety, the exhibition is a captivating exploration of contemporary abstraction and its inextricable relationship with color, and the wealth of its possible expressions. Color is a means to an effect, in some works. In others, color is the subject itself.

In Jimi Gleason’s reflective pearlescent paint works, color alters the entire aura—sometimes appearing almost glacial, with pronounced passages of blue and white, while hues of black and purple have the feel of industrial oil slicks.

Installation view “Color Theory” 2021. Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

Meanwhile, Nellie King Solomon approaches color with bold effect. In lieu of canvas and brushes, she works on industrial Mylar and employs custom wood and glass tools to pull paint in sweeping, gestural marks. The bold colors she uses have a jubilant effect, and echo the tension between spontaneity and rigor at work in her practice.

All in all, this bright and bold exhibition is a reminder of the power of color to alter—and improve—our moods. 

See more images of the show below.

Installation view “Color Theory” 2021. Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

Jeremy Thomas, The Sun Also Rises Yellow (2021). Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

Nellie King Solomon, Spirulina – Hookers Green Rings 1 (2010). Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

Donald Martiny, Hamatsa (2021). Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

Jimi Gleason, Air (2020). Courtesy of Bentley Gallery.

“Color Theory” is on view at Bentley Gallery through Saturday, April 3, 2021.