The Great Collapse

Through distinctive approaches to process and color, Gabriel Mills’s paintings enigmatically reconcile material presence with atmospheric release. These two orbiting facets of his work have become further refined and idiosyncratic in this exhibition The Great Collapse. First, he audaciously maneuvers around the material conditions of oil paint by intentionally employing the various mishaps and failures that can happen when pushing the chemical makeup of paint to its presumed limits. Second, his unorthodox yet captivating approach to color results in unexpected, widely contrasting saturations and temperatures. Here, somber mixtures of ocher and umber are interspersed within an expanse of richly vivid hues, such as turquoise, lilac, and cerulean blue. These colors’ optical interactions produce an iridescent-like quality that marks many works in this exhibition. The contradicting textures and colors Mills paints imbue the surfaces with, in the artist’s words, “a union of weight and atmosphere.”

-Matt Herriot

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