SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Dolby Chadwick Gallery presents The Long Year, an exhibition of new paintings by Gary Edward Blum. With their tiers of horizontal stripes and extended fields of color, Blum’s compositions can be seen as emerging out of the legacies of Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism. Indeed, Agnes Martin’s emphasis on lines and grids and aspects of Richard Diebenkorn’s later color field paintings can be observed in Blum’s work. But the exercise Blum has in mind extends far beyond a mere reworking of established styles.

Intrigued by dualities and the phenomena of coexistence, Blum introduces aspects of realism into certain sections – typically the upper register – of his compositions as a means of creating stylistic opposition. His use of trompe l’loeil to realistically render swatches of paper held up by strips of cellophane tape challenges the distinction between art and life and sheds light on the way in which representation is translated from experience. Like miniature paintings, these tangible bits of paper mimic the abstract renderings often found in the bottom half of the composition. By employing divergent styles to create a picture within a picture, the viewer comes away from Blum’s work with the understanding that oppositions can exist harmoniously in the same space.

Gary Edward Blum was born in Montara, California and currently lives in Oakland, California. He received a B.A. from California State University, Chico, and an M.F.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002. His work can be found in prestigious corporate and public collections throughout the country. This will be Blum’s second show at Dolby Chadwick Gallery.