Jim Nutt's exhibition will include three paintings and twelve graphite drawings from the past three years, each featuring an enigmatic portrait of a woman. His feather-light drawings are spare and exacting. His gem-like paintings (which require up to a year to complete) provide a sensual jolt more commonly associated with Renaissance painting.

Eyes, nose and mouth are exquisitely honed and shaped by the artist, and his compositions teem with curious and wonderful and flourishes: a colossal nose, petal nostrils, a fuzzy caterpillar of an eyebrow, distinctly alien ears, utterly mismatched eyes, a wiggly neck. In an atmosphere of absolute concentration, every nuance of face and hair is an object of fascination.

A fully-illustrated catalogue, with an interview of the artist by Carroll Dunham accompanies the exhibition, and is available from the gallery for $25.00. Jim Nutt was born in 1938. This is his second exhibition at Nolan/Eckman.