SANTA MONICA, CA.- Christopher Grimes Gallery presents an exhibition of new abstract paintings by Joshua Podoll. In his previous body of work Podoll introduced gestural brushstrokes that expressed honesty through imperfection. With these new paintings Podoll places greater emphasis on drawing – marks are built up layer upon layer from a white ground: blurry airbrush lines, transparent washy brushstrokes and heavy impasto piles all interweave to create a tapestry of markmaking. Within this densely layered space Podoll paints austere floating objects that act as portals and serve to create tension between themselves and the layers of marks. The paintings become energized through the bravado and angularity of brushwork and intensity of color and contrast.

Podoll (Seattle, WA, 1972) lives and works in San Francisco. His work has been included in exhibitions at Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA (2010); You Can Heal Your Life!, curated by Emma Gray at Circus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2010); Without Sun, curated by Carole Ann Klonarides at Christopher Grimes Gallery (2007); Headlands Center for the Arts, Fort Barry, CA (2003); and University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA (2002).

The South Gallery will feature new paintings by Carlos Bunga, made as a part of a dialogue with his recent site-specific installation at the gallery. Photographs of this work, Future Anterior, were printed and used as a foundation on which to make the paintings. The paintings act as a more permanent reference to the structure which was by nature ephemeral. The manner in which paint was applied to the exterior of the original installation is maintained in these works, providing continuity and shared formal sensibility.

Bunga (Porto, Portugal, 1976) lives and works in Barcelona. After studying Fine Arts at the Escola Superior de Arte e Design in Caldas da Rainha in Portugal, Bunga first attracted international attention with his work at the contemporary art biennial Manifesta 5 in San Sebastian, Spain (2004). Since then, has had solo shows of his work at Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2012); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2011); Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL (2009); and Museo de Arte Contemporanéa de Vigo, Spain (2009). His work is in the collections of such institutions as Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Serralves Foundation, Porto, Portugal; and Museo d'art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona, Spain.