Roland Reiss: Unrepentant Beauty Opening

Santa Monica, CA  - William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Roland Reiss: Unrepentant Beauty, an exhibition of late paintings by Roland Reiss (1929–2020), opening April 25, 5-8PM and on view through June 20, 2026.

A pioneering figure in postwar American art, Reiss spent more than six decades redefining the possibilities of painting. From his early explorations of abstraction and representation to his groundbreaking sculptural works and miniature environments, his practice consistently expanded the boundaries of the medium.

This exhibition focuses on a remarkable development in his final decades: a series of vibrant, dynamic flower paintings that challenge long-standing assumptions about beauty and subject matter in contemporary art. Historically regarded as decorative or peripheral, the motif of the flower becomes, in Reiss’ hands, a site of formal and conceptual innovation. The artist approached these works with full awareness of their cultural baggage, describing the act of painting flowers as requiring “a leap of faith.”

About these paintings Reiss stated, “Flowers are the vehicle for putting everything I have learned about painting into my work.” The resulting paintings move fluidly between abstraction and figuration, combining bold color, gestural energy, and spatial complexity. Rather than depicting flowers, Reiss uses them as a framework for exploring perception, materiality, and the enduring power of visual experience.

The title Unrepentant Beauty reflects the artist’s unapologetic embrace of beauty as both subject and strategy. In contrast to earlier generations for whom beauty was often viewed with suspicion, Reiss’ late work asserts its relevance with clarity and conviction.

At the end of a long and influential career, Reiss produced a body of work that is at once playful, rigorous, and deeply resonant—offering a powerful reconsideration of what painting can be.

Roland Reiss studied at the American Academy of Art, Mount San Antonio College and at UCLA. He taught at UCLA, the University of Colorado, and Claremont Graduate University, where he served as Chair for 30 years, from 1971 to 2001. In 2009 he received the College Art Association Award for the Distinguished Teaching of Art. At CGU he held the Benezet Chair in the Humanities and in 2010 an endowed chair in art was established in his name. He was also the director of The Painting's Edge residency at Idyllwild Arts.

Reiss was the recipient of four N.E.A. grants and of numerous prizes and awards. His work is included in many important public and private collections, such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Hammer Museum, among others.

Now Representing Roland Reiss

William Turner Gallery is honored to announce our representation of the estate of Roland Reiss (1929–2020), one of the most distinctive and intellectually rigorous voices in postwar American art. This partnership reflects the gallery's commitment to championing significant legacies in contemporary art history and ensuring that Reiss's pioneering body of work continues to reach new audiences.

Though widely celebrated for his miniature tableaux, Reiss was first and foremost a painter whose more than sixty-year career left an indelible mark on the Los Angeles and Southern California art scenes. He was included in the 1975 Whitney Biennial and Documenta 7 in 1982, and received fourteen solo museum exhibitions over the course of his career, including The Dancing Lessons: 12 Sculptures (1977) at LACMA. He also received survey exhibitions at the Pasadena Museum of Contemporary Art (2011–2012) and exhibited at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. A retrospective of his work was mounted at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in 1991.

Reiss studied at the American Academy of Art, Mount San Antonio College, and UCLA, graduating with an MA in 1957. He taught at the University of Colorado, UCLA, and Claremont Graduate University, where he chaired the art department for thirty years. In 2009, he received the College Art Association Award for Distinguished Teaching of Art. At CGU he held the Benezet Chair in the Humanities, and in 2010 an endowed chair in art was established in his name. He was also director of The Painting’s Edge residency at Idyllwild Arts.

Reiss received four NEA grants and numerous prizes and awards. His work is held in many significant public and private collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hammer Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Palm Springs Art Museum, UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, Benton Museum of Art, Claremont Lewis Museum of Art, and Oakland Museum of California.

Guillermo Bert's Upcoming Solo Show at the Museum of Latin American Ar

Congratulations to Guillermo Bert on his upcoming solo show, Techno-Empathy, opening at the Museum of Latin American Art on March 29.

This exhibition shows the Chilean-born artist Guillermo Bert bringing the two together in novel and powerful ways. He uses three principal tools, all of them uncommon in most art production: QR codes, 3-D imaging, and laser engraving. In the Encoded Textiles series, weavings include QR codes that literally embed the story of the weaver into the work so that anyone with a smartphone can see and hear them. Through 3-D imaging, the artist creates life-size images of workers whom he has met, allowing us also to meet them face to face from a unique perspective. Media images today often show migrants and refugees, but Bert uses laser engraving to transfer them onto unusual surfaces, such as wood panels that mimic the look of some of the earliest “high technology:” the rectangular panels that encoded instructions for the first mechanical looms in the 19th century.

Guillermo Bert At William Turner Gallery

Mark Steven Greenfield Solo Show at the Boone Family Gallery at Pasadena City College

William Turner Gallery is happy to congratulate Mark Steven Greenfield on his extraordinary solo show, Venerated, at Pasadena City College’s Boone Family Gallery. The exhibition received an in-depth review by Suzanne York which included excerpts of Greenfield’s art practice and activism as well as discussion of the spiritual and historical themes that shape his work. York highlights how Greenfield’s paintings draw on cultural memory, overlooked figures from the African diaspora, and symbols such as the Black Madonna and mandala forms to explore history, resistance, and renewal.

“The Boone Gallery exhibition offers visitors a unique look across the evolving stages of Greenfield’s artistic life. It presents work that is visually striking, historically rich, and unapologetically challenging.”

The show was also cited by PBS SoCal as one of the five best things to do during the week of March 2-8!

SURFACE TENSION: Focus Los Angeles - Opening Saturday 5-8PM

Surface Tension: Focus Los Angeles Opening February 28 5-8PM

Santa Monica, CA  - William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Surface Tension: Focus Los Angeles, a major group exhibition of West Coast artists, opening February 28, 5-8 PM, and on view through April 11, 2026.

Surface Tension: Focus Los Angeles explores surface as an active site of meaning, sensation, and perception. The exhibition foregrounds how contemporary practices use texture, layering, and materiality to shape visual and sensory experience. Bridging painting, sculpture, and works at their intersection, the featured artists employ materials ranging from pearlescent and pigmented acrylics to urethane, resin, industrial finishes, and etched line-work.

Together, the works reveal surface as a dynamic interface that captures light, depth, and movement while inviting sustained, close looking. Through extended material experimentation and technical refinement, each artist demonstrates a deep attunement to their chosen medium, using surface to generate tension between control and intuition, precision and discovery, all aimed at igniting a spark of heightened perception.

Featured artists: Dawn Arrowsmith, Casper Brindle, Alex Couwenberg, Shingo Francis, Frank Gehry, Jimi Gleason, James Hayward, Eric Johnson, Peter Lodato, Andy Moses, Ed Moses, Roland Reiss, Scot Heywood and Jennifer Wolf.

Dawn Arrowsmith, Plum Sienna, acrylic on canvas, 56" x 56"

Dawn Arrowsmith produces meditative, color-driven works informed by Buddhist philosophy and extensive travel. Her paintings appear minimal at first glance, gradually revealing optical shimmer and depth through prolonged viewing.

Casper Brindle, LIGHT GLYPH (YELLOW), 2026, VACUUMED FORMED PIGMENTED ACRYLIC

Casper Brindle creates paintings and sculptures that engage light through reflective, industrial materials including resin and automotive paint. His work shifts with the viewer’s movement, emphasizing perception and atmospheric depth.

Alex Couwenberg,  Stranded (I’m), 2025, Acrylic & spray on canvas, 72” x 66”

Alex Couwenberg is a Southern California–based painter whose work draws from Los Angeles modernism and mid-century design. His sleek, glossy paintings are influenced by Hard-edge abstraction and Finish Fetish aesthetics.

Shingo Francis, Mystery to Explore, 2023, Oil on canvas, 24" x 24"

Shingo Francis creates paintings that shimmer and shift through the use of interference pigments that refract light. Influenced by Southern California’s Light and Space movement and his immersion in LA’s art scene, Francis’s works change with viewer position and lighting conditions.

Frank Gehry, Memory of Sophie Calle’s Flower, 2012, Cast urethane with wood pedestal,
24” x 23” x 18”

Frank Gehry (1929–2025) Known for his de-constructivist approach and creative use of materials, Gehry’s buildings share an artist’s sensibility, where surface texture and dynamic form activate his structures. The undulating, curvilinear forms of his architecture are often echoed in the sculptures and drawings he created throughout his long career.

Jimi Gleason, Untitled, 2018, Silver nitrate & acrylic on canvas, 48” x 126”

Jimi Gleason explores the reflective and perceptual properties of light, using materials such as silver nitrate and pearlescent paint. His mirror-like surfaces shift with the viewer and environment, creating interactive, meditative experiences.

James Hayward, Abstract #247, 2023, Oil on canvas, 25” x 23”

James Hayward paints monochromes that celebrate the nuances of color and sensuality of texture. The surfaces are lavish cake icings of paint, almost daring the viewer to touch, lick, engage. Deft strokes of the artist’s hand remain as deep fissures in the surface, further exciting the senses to embrace their physicality.

Scot Heywood, Stack - Black, White, Canvas, 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 70” x 74”

Scot Heywood’s works are indebted to the origins of geometric abstraction. Ranging in scale from intimate to encompassing, his paintings consist of multiple, colored canvases, connected in staggered, patchwork patterns, intentionally misaligned to create delightfully disruptive, staccato visual rhythms.

Eric Johnson, Altamira (Triptych), 1992, Composite, wood, & enamel, 40" x 120" x 18"

Eric Johnson creates resin-based sculptures that merge color, form, and structure, drawing from Southern California’s surf, automotive, and aerospace cultures. His works balance polished surfaces with exposed internal architectures, revealing both depth and construction.

Peter Lodato, Vermilion Green & White, 2023, oil on canvas, 96" x 84"

Peter Lodato (1946–2025) emerged from the Light and Space movement, initially creating immersive light installations before translating perceptual effects into painting. His geometric compositions subtly dissolve through layered brushwork and color vibration, challenging visual certainty.

Andy Moses, Geomorphology 1608, 2023, Acrylic on canvas over concave wood panel,
57” x 90” x 5.5”

Andy Moses is known for his intensive exploration of paint’s alchemical properties. Through complex pouring and mixing processes, his luminous abstractions evoke natural forces rather than representational imagery.

Ed Moses, Sato, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 72” x 120”

Ed Moses (1926–2018) was a pivotal figure in postwar Los Angeles abstraction and a core member of the Ferus Gallery circle. Known for his experimental, process-driven approach, Moses continuously redefined painting over a career spanning six decades.

Left: Roland Reiss, Mirage, 1968, Fiberglass & resin, 46" x 46" x 6
Right: Roland Reiss, Conundrum, 1968, Acrylic, fiberglass, resin, & gelatin coat, 67" x 46.5" x 6"

Roland Reiss (1929-2020) played a significant role in the evolution of postwar West Coast abstraction. Moving from Abstract Expressionism through resin experimentation and conceptual inquiry, Reiss has consistently explored painting as an energetic, interactive field.

Jennifer Wolf, Dye Painting #2, 2021, Natural dyes and mineral pigments on silk with canvas on wood panel, 48” x 48”

Jennifer Wolf uses natural dyes and hand-ground pigments sourced from global expeditions to create subtly shimmering, immersive paintings. Her work explores the elemental qualities of color and surface through fluid, layered compositions that evoke natural environments.

SHINGO FRANCIS INTERVIEW - Fondation D'Entreprise HERMÉS

William Turner Gallery is pleased to share a recently released interview with Shingo Francis where he discusses his artwork, influences, and inspirations for the “Interference” exhibition at Maison Hermès Le Forum in 2023. Le Forum is an exhibition space housed in a glass-brick building designed by Renzo Piano. Flooded with natural light that forms an integral part of its identity, it is an oasis of contemplation inviting visitors to discover contemporary art in the heart of Tokyo’s dynamic Ginza neighbourhood. Directed by exhibition curator Reiko Setsuda, Le Forum offers an international programme bringing Japanese artists together with others from all over the world.

In addition to sharing Francis’ newly released interview with Foundation d’enterprise Hermès, William Turner Gallery is thrilled with Francis’ participation in the Japanese Pavilion at the Ōsaka Expo 2025.

Born in Santa Monica, California in 1969, Shingo Francis’ work explores the expansiveness of space and spirituality in painting. Francis has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Japan and internationally. His works are held in collections such as the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, Banco de España, the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, the Mori Art Collection, the Sezon Museum of Modern Art, the Oketa Collection, the Tokyo American Club, the Ueshima Collection, and Tiffany & Co.

INTERVIEW WITH SHINGO AT FONDATION D’ ENTREPRISE HERMÉS

TIME LAPSE OF THE INSTALLATION

Le Forum is an exhibition space housed in a glass-brick building designed by Renzo Piano. Flooded with natural light that forms an integral part of its identity, it is an oasis of contemplation inviting visitors to discover contemporary art in the heart of Tokyo’s dynamic Ginza neighbourhood. Directed by exhibition curator Reiko Setsuda, Le Forum offers an international programme bringing Japanese artists together with others from all over the world.

What is “interference”? Under this title, the first exhibition of 2023 invites the public to find answers through experience. Four artists explore our perceptions through the effects on the body of stimuli such as light, vibrations or soundwaves. Through stripped-back aesthetics, each of these artists highlights the subtle variations caused by the interferences to which our bodies are subjected in everyday life. Visitors are invited to contemplate the nature of perception through deeply felt sensations both physical and unconscious. The title, “Interference”, is borrowed from a series of paintings by artist Shingo Francis (b. 1969, United States): containing pigments that interfere with light, the colours of these canvases shift according to the viewer’s position. Nearby, an installation by Susanna Fritscher (b. 1960, Austria) immerses the viewer in a sensory experience of vibrations and pulsations beyond the frequencies that we are capable of hearing. Finally, Bruno Botella (b. 1976, France) presents pieces that stimulate our subconscious perception through tactile sensation, while Aiko Miyanaga (b. 1976, Japan) invites visitors to embark on a cosmic journey – the ultimate sensation, transcending time and space – through a tea ceremony shared online.

Edward Goldman’s Own ‘Made In LA’— Pandemic Version

We are pleased to have two gallery artists Andy Moses and Mark Steven Greenfield included in this exhibition at USC Fisher Museum of Art. To read the article about the exhibition please click on the link below.

PRESS - Autre Magazine - Oliver Kupper speaks with Casper Brindle

Andy Moses: RECENT WORKS - Digital Catalog Now Available

William Turner Gallery is pleased to present the digital catalog for Recent Works, an expansive new series of paintings by Los Angeles-based artist Andy Moses. This extensive presentation marks the artist’s first solo exhibition since his highly acclaimed 30 Year Survey exhibition in 2017 at the Santa Monica College Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery. 

Andy Moses: Recent Works presents an artist fully engaged and at the height of his creative process, showcasing perhaps his most ambitious and diverse body of work to date. Implementing techniques that utilize the artist’s almost obsessive study of the alchemical properties of paint, Moses’s work blurs the line between abstraction and a new kind of pictorialism…

A hard copy of the catalog will be available at the gallery.  To receive a copy of the catalog by mail please email at turnergallery@gmail.com.