Littlejohn Contemporary Presents Peter Bynum Exhibition ILLUMINATED PAINTINGS, Now thru 10/6

LittleJohn Contemporary has announced the upcoming exhibition of recent sculptural, 'Illuminated paintings' on glass by Peter Bynum. With 360 degrees of light surrounding organic forms that float on multiple layers of glass, these mesmerizing contemporary paintings draw the viewer into a secret world teeming with life. The viewer feels able to dive into the paintings, swimming through 6 to 10 layers of light-saturated glass. The exhibition will be on view from today, September 6 to October 6, 2012, with a reception for the artist on the 6th from 6 to 8 p.m.

The work dramatically expands the visual territory available for painting:

"At its most provocative, contemporary art turns a corner and moves away from the past. This direction is put into motion either by the use of new materials, by introducing previously taboo content, or by breaking with traditional formats so that the way we think about art- what it is and why it looks the way it does-is challenged. Peter Bynum brings to this discourse a body of work focused on the subject of light that both explores and pushes the boundaries of contemporary painting. He's making a new dynamic experience of painting with light, and he's making a sculptural object – there are transparent layers through which I can dive into this incredible natural space, almost as if I'm going underwater. The light itself, glowing, is a breathing element that I find very dynamic, and something different from other artists whose work is about nature or about light. There's some sort of secret world in the paintings that is brought out with this light that comes from behind and presses beyond The Edges of the glass. This goes so far beyond what traditional painting on canvas has ever been able to achieve. Peter Bynum has made one breakthrough after another, and pushed the language of painting into a new place. It changes the conversation."

"Bynum has upended the history of painting in four ways: He brings light from behind the paint; explodes layers to create three-dimensional, sculptural paintings; turns passive viewers into participants by giving them control over the light level; and reveals paint's "secret life," showing how paint's natural DNA replicates natural ecosystems with their branching architecture and dendrite forms." - Dede Young, Art Historian and Curator

Bynum's work was recently selected by the Whitney Museum's and SF MoMA's former Director, David Ross, for a show at the Woodstock Art Museum (WAAM). Two other works are currently at the Edward Hopper House & Museum in Nyack, NY. This is Bynum's second solo show in New York.

For more about LittleJohn Contemporary, "like" the gallery on Facebook. Littlejohn is located at 547 West 27 Street, New York, NY. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am. to 6 p.m. Visit the official website for more information at www.littlejohncontemporary.com.