Maine-based painter John Gallagher’s acrylic on paper compositions possess an unharnessed, gestural energy that can be associated with the Abstract Expressionists - specifically Willem de Kooning canvasses 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, suggests a continuum, a pulse that runs through everything and seems to imbue objects and forms with a sense of mystery and meaning."
