Featured Gallery Artist:
Beth O'Grady
ARTIST STATEMENT:
My paintings are created with acrylic, graphite, charcoal, and collage on canvas.
I paint meditatively. I am intrigued by the power of abstraction to speak an ineffable language. My paintings are emotionally expressive, and concerned with composition, form, and color.
An underlying structure of lines and grids helps me to organize space on the canvas. Sometimes the lines and grids remain in the final piece, and sometimes they are obliterated by the spontaneous painting that follows. I draw, paint, scrape, and sand, making layered abstracts that are metaphors for the inner and natural world.
Formerly an award-winning illustrator, I began painting abstractly in 2009. I am influenced by artists such as Robert Motherwell, Agnes Martin, the quilt makers of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which embraces nature, authenticity, and imperfection.
BIO:
I grew up in Princeton, NJ, and have lived in Hoboken, and Point Pleasant Beach. My home and studio are in Tewksbury, NJ. I have a BFA in Illustration from Parsons School of Design in NYC. I also studied at the Art Students League in NYC, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and the River Gallery School of Art in Brattleboro, Vermont. Before becoming a painter, I worked as an illustrator, producing art for publications such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
EXHIBITIONS:
Mama’s Grace, Chester, NJ (2011)
Mountain Art Show, Bernardsville, NJ (2012, 2014)
Lancaster Museum of Art, Artful Dining, Lancaster, PA (2013)
The Hive, Chester, NJ (September 2014)
Gourmet Expressions, Mountainville, NJ (Feb. 2015—June 2015)
Tewksbury Public Library, Oldwick, NJ (July 2015–October 2015)
New Century Artists, 530 W 25th St, NYC (August 2015)
Central Booking, 21 Ludlow St, NYC (October 2016)
Hunterdon Art Museum, Members Exhibition, Clinton, NJ (September 2016–January 2017)
CONTACT:
908-303-0375