Sharon Butler visits the studio of painter John Zinsser. Zinsser’s work is currently on view in The Humanism of Abstraction at the Dedalus Foundation. The show, which also includes work by David Reed and Carrie Moyer, is on view through November 17, 2016.

Butler observes: “Playfulness and improvisation, then, are parts of [Zinsser’s] process but within fairly strict, self-imposed limits. For instance, in most of his work, a layer of brushstrokes or patterning overlies a layer of base color. But for Zinsser, the brushstroke can’t simply be a mark; he understands it and utilizes it as an iconic figure in the history of art.”