The transcendent subtlety and quietude of Blaise Rosenthal’s intricate compositions in charcoal and acrylic on canvas is immediately captivating. His softly wavering, almost flickering, striations evoke the ascetic quality of Agnes Martin’s grid paintings of the 1960s and ’70s, while his manner of binding canvases together to form multipartite compositions signals a contemporary understanding of how to push the medium in new directions. Although this artist is self-taught, his formal excellence, evident commitment to process, and sophisticated understanding of his medium set these abstractions apart. Despite the apparent simplicity of his work’s construction, these paintings are redolent with nuance and complexity.

The Stream, 2014, 64×78 inches, acrylic and charcoal on canvas

One, 2013, 64×96 inches, acrylic and charcoal on canvas

"Calaveras.  Skulls.  The first home I remember was on the edge of nowhere.  At the end of a dirt road in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada I spent my formative years. The elemental character of this environment and its aesthetic vocabulary became archetypal for me. Earth, water, fire and wind; all in local forms. Seasons. Dusty bare feet and no shirt through dry heat summers, and the sound of crickets at night. Stars beyond counting.  The still death of autumn.  Winter, with rain on the roof, the smell of cold smoke, and darkness.  And then spring, and resurrection.  This place formed my bones and my blood, and much of what is true about me.  It made what is mine, and what I have to share. It is from the residue of this experience that I form my paintings." – Blaise Rosenthal