Gary Stephan
Devening Projects + Editions, Chicago, Illinois 
Recommendation by Robin Dluzen 
Originally published September 2012 on Visual Art Source.

Gary Stephan, ''Untitled,'' 2011, acrylic on paper, 16 x 11''.

Continuing through October 6, 2012

Veteran New York painter Gary Stephan presents over 100 untitled new works on paper, each sharing the same loosely geometric forms, and a combination of spontaneous gesture and precise draftsmanship. Despite their presentation as an extensive series, each work is autonomous, engaging playful and unique treatments of illusionistic space. 

A collection of photographic works on the gallery’s back wall contain imagery such as a scraped-off sticker on a car window or the back of a painting as seen through a steel shelf, exposing Stephan’s predilection for the precarious layers of perception that lend themselves so well to the exploration of painting’s two-dimensionality. Whether they are the artist’s source material for his paintings or not, the photographs are indicative of the way in which the paintings’ layering of space and distinct palettes are not so completely abstracted from what we observe in the world around us.