Out of Nowhere: John Gallagher Paintings 1996 – 2014

Maine-based painter John Gallagher exhibits a number of recent abstract paintings, as well as several early pieces. The artist’s acrylic on paper compositions possess an unharnessed, gestural energy that can be associated with the Abstract Expressionists —specifically Willem de Kooning canvases and Jackson Pollock’s early paintings. Gallagher’s paintings are rooted in process; the spontaneity of his mark-making and subsequent revisions unite with an unbridled exploration of the material quality of paint. The surface of each work combines transparent paint washes with areas that contain a dense buildup of manipulated paint.

The changing environmental conditions viewed in and around the artist’s studio, situated along Maine’s coast, provide a boundless source of inspiration for these compositions. Gallagher states, “The constant, unrelenting surround of woods and ocean, of rocks and fields, suggest a continuum, a pulse that runs through everything and seems to imbue objects and forms with a sense of mystery and meaning.”

John Gallagher (American, born 1944)
top: Standing Moment, 2010
bottom: Blue Cee, 2012
Both works: Acrylic on arches paper, Courtesy of the artist