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Phillis Ideal’s work is about the materiality of paint which represents a wide range of abstraction: layers of transparent and thick, brushed and sprayed paint; collaged fragments imbedded in medium; zeroxed rasta dots, computer graphics, shards of other drawings; as well as, large gestural brush strokes. Thus, the scope is broad and the paintings exist as both a tangible material and as a catalog of visual language of different styles of image making. Some paintings are more complex in combining reference than others. Her studio practice underscores a playful and imaginative setting in which many moods, techniques and art history can coexist, referencing the vastness of the operations of abstraction. These paintings are moments in an open process that experiments with both formal relationships and chance elements to create meaning. In this work, she is interested in testing the system of making art within the mind of the artist and the viewer. These paintings are open to visual perception and stand on their own to engage an emotional and intellectual response. Phillis Ideal has exhibited in major museums and galleries in San Francisco, Santa Fe and New York City. Her work has been shown and collected in many private, corporate and public collections such as MH de Young Museum, Oakland Museum of Fine Arts, Newport Harbor Art Museum and Fine Arts Museum of Santa Fe. She was represented by Rosenberg and Kaufman Fine Arts in New York City, as well as Linda Durham Contemporary Art Gallery and Chiaroscuro In Santa Fe. In recent years she has exhibited her work in Otranto, Italy, Berlin and Paris. Her academic experience includes teaching at San Francisco State, UC Berkeley, and Sarah Lawrence.