Julian Kreimer's West Coast Solo Debut at Lux Art Institute Explores Painting's Dualities

From January 24 to March 21, 2015, Julian Kreimer presented his first West Coast solo exhibition at the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas, California. The show highlighted his oscillation between naturalistic landscapes and abstract compositions, with many works created during his residency on the institute's grounds. Kreimer, who also teaches painting, discussed how technical color exercises inform his abstract pieces. His process involves reworking unsuccessful landscape paintings into abstractions in the studio, embedding time through methodical brushwork. Notable works included South #1 (2015), Turquoise Fence (2011), Construction #4 (2015), and Maybe Someday, Without Knowing It (2013). The exhibition featured mostly small paintings, with striking close-cropped images of prickly pear cactus piles standing out in a salon-style arrangement. Kreimer's approach to daily painting exercises aims to escape narrative while inviting viewer projection, as seen in Our Claim to What Is (2013). The artist was caught trespassing while painting Construction #4 at a school under construction. His landscapes exhibit viscous, anxious paint handling, while abstractions require patience to excavate layered actions.