”It is better for the paintings and for us if the paintings make themselves,” says abstract artist Jonathan Allmaier ’02. The former philosophy and visual arts concentrator describes himself as the “studio assistant” to his paintings. He grinds pigments and mixes their paints, stretches and primes their canvases, and then takes his directions from the paintings’ scale, dimensions, and other qualities. This 2012 work, Untitled (Green, Brown, & Blue Bumps), is from a series Allmaier calls Bump Paintings. They are on exhibition in his second solo show at James Fuentes Gallery in New York City, which runs through March 30.