Installation view 1989

These brown-grey paintings by Gaylen Gerber create a kind of quiet hum. You could say they are about the idea of painting, or maybe anti-painting. Look how the subdued palette interacts with the gallery's white walls; the subtle textures and tonal variations reward close attention. Up close, you might discern traces of the artist's hand, but it's all so muted, so understated. There's a self-effacing quality that reminds me of some of Robert Ryman’s all-white paintings, except here, Gerber seems interested in the shadows, the in-between spaces. It’s almost as if he’s trying to paint the un-paintable, to capture the ephemeral nature of perception itself. Like Agnes Martin, he embraces ambiguity, inviting us to slow down, to contemplate the subtle nuances of color and form, and to find meaning in the quiet spaces between things.