Paul Pitsker: Every Tiny Little Thing

Billis Williams Gallery is pleased to present PAUL PITSKER: EVERY TINY LITTLE THING - the gallery’s fourth solo exhibition of paintings by the Los Angeles-based artist.  EVERY TINY LITTLE THING features ten of Pitsker’s new watercolors and continues through February 17th.

Paul Pitsker’s exquisitely detailed paintings depict darkly beautiful surreal moments.  At first glance, the paintings appear whimsical but upon closer inspection, the complexities of Pitsker’s subjects become apparent: jelly fish in a gumball machine, flowers in a vase of hot sauce, a string of lights hanging in a water-filled fish bowl.  The paintings reference how fragile life is and how fleeting - a nod to memento mori painting - but with a wink.

Pitsker works almost exclusively in watercolor and his handling of the medium is extraordinary.  His techniques includes building up dense layers of pigment to create luxuriously velvety color fields and an astounding mastery of the medium that gives him an unprecedented level of control in the details: glass glints, bird feathers and butterfly wings seem ready to take flight, and flowers seems to bloom before our very eyes. Pitsker paintings at times include text - whimsical and wise riddles about the world - adding another layer to these complex and virtuosic works.

Watercolor has a reputation for being unforgiving -- the paint is translucent and the paper is absorbent, so marks made at any point during the process are likely to remain visible in the final result.  Pitsker writes, “Each watercolor painting is a kind of performance, like a music recital where you can’t take back the sounds you make...  You can only add to them.”  One of Pitsker’s goals with the medium has been to make paintings that don’t look like traditional watercolors.  To this end, he uses fine-grained staining pigments, smooth paper, and for the most part, avoids splashy wet-in-wet effects and grainy, sedimentary textures.

Paul Pitsker received his BA with distinction from Pomona College, Claremont, CA, in 1985.  His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and appeared in multiple publication including American Art Collector, American Entomologist, Bootleg Magazine, Studio Visit Magazine, and LA Weekly.  He lives and works in Santa Monica, CA.