newmark gallery san francisco

251 post street suite 412 san francisco ca 94108

Contact: Margaret Bertels FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tel. 415-392-3692

www.newmarkgallery.com

“SHADE”: NEW PAINTINGS BY ILAN LAKS

October 2^nd to October 27^th

Opening Reception for the Artist, Oct. 4^th, 6 to 8 PM

San Francisco, CA. Mark J. Wladika, director of Newmark Gallery, San Francisco is pleased to announce his fourth solo show of new paintings by Portland based abstract artist, Ilan Laks in October of 2007.

These powerful, large-scale abstracts continue the artist’s process of creating complex paintings that capture light, refracting it through layers of color, meticulously producing the illusion of multi-dimensional depth. He focuses on creating cohesive groups of ten or more paintings, which he works on concurrently. Working on birch panels in oils and mixed media, these paintings are richly textured and deeply resonant.

According to Mr. Wladika, “Laks employs a process unheard of with many contemporary painters - time. He takes anywhere form 12 to 18 months to complete a painting and the result is evident. His stellar abstracts are dense with information while maintaining a coherency that is rare in the genre. Laks spends a significant amount of time on reduction, on removing paint. Adding and removing paint layer-by-layer until a three-dimensional universe is constructed in two dimensions. His mastery of palette, medium and technique allows him to push the limits of oil paints into territories both new and mysterious.”

Ilan Laks was born is Boston, Massachusetts in 1972. He has traveled extensively and maintained active studios in Europe, Israel, and various regions of the United States. He spent a year painting in Barcelona, Spain and outside of Santa Fe in the ghost town of Cerillos, New Mexico. In Los Angeles he became a member of Downtown Artist Development Association (DADA) and exhibited in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. While studying at the San Francisco Art Institute where he received his BFA in Painting in 2005, he produced events that created alliances and opportunities for many local artists. He now lives in Portland, Oregon where he is the founder and owner of AudioCinema.

Newmark Gallery San Francisco is located at 251 Post Street, Suite 412 in the Union Square area of San Francisco. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm and by appointment. Visit our website at www.newmarkgallery.com for more information or call 415.392.3692 or email art@newmarkgallery.com

High Resolution Images and Catalogs available upon request.