Daniel Hunter is back with a new exhibition at Gallery 621. Those who have frequented the gallery over the years might remember the El Sobrante artist’s showcase of toys encased in ceramic tiles in last year’s exhibit, “Tile Tales.” Hunter is creating art out of tiles again in his new show— “New Work,” which opens Aug. 9— except they are made out of wood, rather than clay.

Hunter taught ceramics, photography and general art courses at Oakland High School for 17 years and previously taught beginning through advanced photography classes to adults in his studio for 18 years. In recent years, Hunter has gotten into making tiles out of ceramics, plaster, tin and wood.

“There is a natural progression between all the materials,” he said. “Some ideas work best in clay while other ideas make more sense in wood and paint.”

For this show, Hunter created works out of wood and paint, which he said takes much quicker to result in a product than clay.

“Working in clay is a very slow process,” he said. “It takes months to produce finished work. Working with paint and wood allows me to be able to go through ideas much more quickly. Also, paint gives me endless colors to work with.”

Hunter said that when he paints, he tries not to spend too much time on each tile. Instead, he attempts to move quickly through small groups of tiles working on a similar idea. The paint is then applied in layers, with some tiles being repainted multiple times.

“I am hopeful accidents will happen and try not to be too judgmental,” he said.

After Hunter is finished with a large number of tiles, he starts selecting the ones he likes. Then he begins putting them together as a whole, which he said can take months.

As the title would suggest, “New Work” is a collection of Hunter’s recent wooden tile works. The idea for the show came as he was painting small squares of wood he was using to build a support panel.

“I really like the squares and how quickly they came into being,” he said. “So I decided to try and work with paint and wood directly. I liked the fact that I could work spontaneously and quickly, something I could not do in clay and plaster.”

Hunter said the works featured in this show are different from those in “Tile Tales,” which had themes of social justice.

“This new work is just pleasure for the eyes,” he said. “It was a pleasure to make too.”

Among the pieces featured are a set of tiles called “Black Matter” which features an array of scrambled circular patterns set across a black backdrop.

“The image itself is very unusual,” he said. “I like that image a lot.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum is a series of colorful X’s titled “Looking for the Good Stuff.”

Hunter hopes people will enjoy looking at this work, which features a lot of variety.

“A person can work with patterns, any kind of form, color or texture,” he said. “(Tiles) are also small and can easily be handled. Yet when they are added together they can make a large statement.”

“New Work” will open Thursday, Aug. 9 and run through Sunday, Sept. 2. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 Gallery 621, located at 309 First St., where attendees will have a chance to meet the artist. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. For more information, call the gallery at 746-6211.