Invisible Structures, a last reflection

Last chance! Invisible Structures will close after a one-day extension. The gallery will be open for an extra day on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 from 12-4PM. Don’t miss your chance to see Invisible Structures and the Automatic Photoshop Paintings!           

Scattered throughout the Julio Fine Arts Gallery are large canvases with what appears to be random shapes and patterns of various shades of grey. However, the images on these canvases are so much more than that. These are the Automatic Photoshop Paintings by Jon Malis. In this exhibit, Malis uses Adobe’s Photoshop software to create what you see in the exhibition. Malis is highlighting the ways that the pixels in Photoshop change shape, structure, and color using processes whose automation puts them out of control of the user.

            These pieces of work all begin as a grid of individual pixels before Malis manipulates them through the software. He uses various Photoshop algorithms to resize and adjust these pixels, which then take on different shapes and configurations. These algorithms interpret and restructure images to fit the demands of different viewing platforms. The shapes that are created can all look different from one another. The seemingly once small pixels iteratively grow and morph from discrete dots of information into nebulous shapes, waves, and rhythms of tone and color.

            One of the pieces, “Grey Light Grey Black Circle, Automatic Resizing, 12 iterations,” depicts a large dark grey circle in the middle on the grey colored canvas. Although this piece may look as simple as a circle on a canvas, there is so much more behind it. Each pixel in the piece is doing its’ own job to complete a bigger picture. Another piece, “5x5 Checkerboard, Automatic Resizing, 11 iterations,” looks like a blurry checkerboard. Each pixel is perfectly colored and placed in a way that makes us think we are seeing certain shapes or objects. In addition to this, Malis created an inverse to this piece by using special processes in Photoshop. Side by side, these two pieces create an eye-catching experience for any viewer. All throughout the gallery, viewers can see first hand how Malis has turned tiny pixels into breathtaking pieces of work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Grey Light Grey Black Circle, Automatic Resizing, 12 Iterations, from the Automatic Photoshop Paintings series, 34” x 42”, Digital Pigment Print on Canvas, 2021