Justin Nuyda has created one of the most lyrical forms of abstraction in the 20th century, evoked through undulating, striated bands of color floating with the grace of butterflies within the illusion of a three-dimensional landscape. He calls his kind of abstraction “mindscape,” suggesting that these forms are thoughts flitting from one space of the mind to another. Departing from the typical ethos of abstraction that emphasizes the flatness of the support, Nuyda’s evocations move through well-lit, colorful atmosphere. It’s not hard to see that his works, such as this well-crafted example in oil on paper, are exercises in reverie, flights of fancy, waxing poetic. Looking at this abstract work puts the viewer in a frame of mind that is at once contemplative and exalted.