Georgi Tushev’s paintings investigate the effects on oil paint when it is exposed to extreme magnetic fields. His signature works explore the dynamism of pigment, the physical possibilities of paint, and the transformation of matter. He uses pigments that contain high concentrations of iron that, when exposed to magnets, create textured, three-dimensional surfaces; paint seems to explode off the picture plane. Tushev’s works on paper are made through a similar technique, though in water, where the magnetic fields separate the watercolor pigments into areas of black, white, and gray, and create concentric rings and circular patterns. Tushev’s abstract pictorial space is evocative of natural forms and biological processes. On the macro level, the work looks like geological or lunar terrain. On the micro level, it suggests a view under the microscope of cell division and mitosis. Tushev’s method is inherently experimental; his compositions are subject to varying degrees of chance and instability. His longtime scientific testing of material has resulted in works that are arresting in form and astonishing in process.