Pictured: Coat of Many Colors #91 by Tom Stephens.

In 1993, Tom Stephens painted the first Coat of Many Colors, a mammoth work of textural abstraction on a sprawling 12-foot canvas. It was never meant to be a full wardrobe. But 30 years later, the artist finds himself forever the metaphorical tailor, crafting Coat after Coat in his home-studio, surrounded by past attempts and previous almosts, searching for something elusive and whose name most closely translates to perfection. There are more than 100 now, and Stephens shows no sign of slowing.

“I’m still trying to find the right way to sing my song,” he says. “And I’m never satisfied.”

This gives Stephens’ latest exhibition—Textures of Experience, currently on display at 502 Gallery—an interesting context in that it is not an end but explicitly a middle, and perhaps even only a beginning. The works on display do not represent the completion of a thing or the final product but snapshots from an ongoing 30-year project that hopefully represent some sort of forward progress for the effort. Like all exhibitions, it is an act of faith, but of a different sort. There is a vulnerability all its own in the uncertain statement.

But it’s all part of the process. And if there’s one thing Stephens trusts, it’s process.

A cursory look at any of the 30+ canvases comprising Textures of Experience may give the initial impression of chaos, or a synonymous lack of intention. The sheer magnitude of marks—their number and variety—threatens to overwhelm and defies immediate or easy interpretation. But closer examination reveals a careful vocabulary at play, defined by palette knives and a certain flick of the wrist, squeeze bottles and even baking utensils. Nothing is random and Stephens documents every step of each painting’s creation, allowing him to subtly experiment with minor changes, making each composition so calculated that it could almost be described as scientific.

“I’m trying to create the perfect recipe, so to speak,” he says, “the perfect way to paint my paintings.” He calls them process paintings. He describes them as “built.” He says he will not stop.

“I have not yet gotten to the bottom of this—I haven’t achieved my goal—but it’s a journey and, after all these years, I’m still learning so much.”

Currently on display at 502 Gallery, Textures of Experience runs through April 9.

Pictured: Coat of Many Colors #91 by Tom Stephens.