Gretel Stephens | Color Field

CIRCA Gallery will be exhibiting the paintings of L.A.-based artist Gretel Stephens, May 14 - June 25, 2016. COLOR FIELD is Stephens' first solo exhibition with the gallery. An opening reception will be held Saturday, May 14 from 5-8 pm with the artist in attendance. It is free and open to the public.

The 81-year-old artist has a well-established career in the Los Angeles area, where her pared down, meditative fields of subdued color are in stark contrast to the minimal artwork that is often associated with L.A.: the shiny, slick work of "finish fetish" artists such as Larry Bell and Robert Irwin. Instead, Stephens' paintings achieve their ethereal luminousness through the labor- and time-intensive process of dry brushing layer upon layer of oil paint onto linen. The resulting veils of color undulate on the canvas - bringing movement to work that a moment before was wholly still and contemplative. Edges quietly sink into the weft and warp of the linen with occasional, purposefully placed bands of contrasting color pointing out the elegant retreat.

"At this point in my career, the focus on my work is on the basics: color, surface, edges, materials. Simple things," Stephens said. The COLOR FIELD exhibition paintings illustrate how these "simple" things, at least in the hands of this artist, are anything but.