Phenomena Mac in Town

Paul Jenkins made this kind of flowing, vivid abstraction his signature, and "Phenomena Mac in Town" shows exactly why. He worked by pouring thinned paint onto canvas and tilting the surface, letting gravity guide the colors into smooth rivers and pools. That technique gives the work its watery, almost weightless feel. The deep blues and grays seem to drift in one direction while a band of fiery red and orange sweeps across like a sunrise or a wing in motion.

Jenkins belonged to the Abstract Expressionist generation that came up in mid-twentieth century America, though he carved out his own lane with these luminous, controlled spills of color. He titled nearly all his mature paintings "Phenomena," a nod to his interest in the way light, water, and chance behave on their own. There is no fixed subject here, so what you see is up to you. Some viewers find a bird in flight, others a creature gliding underwater, and some just enjoy watching the colors move.