Allan Mitelman is one of Australia's foremost abstract artists. His work defies classification but at the same time draws liberally from the traditions of Western art. His style involves a joyful convergence of process and material and each new work seems to involve some form of extemporisation. Besides being a painter, Mitelman also plays improvised jazz, a musical form related to extemporisation on a musical idea. As a musician Mitelman understands the nuance and ‘abstraction’ of music with its chord changes and tonal relationships, and it is a similar intuitive progression from idea to substance, that he brings to his art.