"I would like my paintings to touch the innermost parts of the soul, to pull the most sensitive strings and to establish harmony within one's true individuality." So says Jordan Ivanov, a local painter born and educated in Bulgaria. His abstract canvases are slick yet splashy, filled with cosmic innuendo and atmospheric swatches of paint punctuated with cryptic squiggles and cul-de-sacs. What's it all about? "Through my work, I hope to express the vibrations of status quo transformed by subjectivity. I wish to show the layered patina of memory yet to happen, and future events missed or forgotten." In other words, he wants to dredge up memories of things that haven't happened yet. Impossible, you say? Never say never. In a city where past, present and future are often confused, Ivanov's quest may not be so unusual after all.

Through July 16
Sylvia Schmidt Gallery, 400-A Julia St., 522-2000