Larry Bell: Improvisations at San Antonio Museum of Art showcases artist's innovative use of materials

Finish Fetish — a West Coast art movement that originated in the late ’60s in and around Los Angeles — evolved in an era when synthetic materials were manipulated to capture the essence of natural phenomena, such as the glimmer of sunlight on the Pacific Ocean at twilight. Instead of picking up a paint brush, these artists used pearlescent finishes, resin, lacquer, Plexiglas and ultra-thin metallic and plastic film to transform static forms into furtive objects of beauty and desire.