James Galloway
Region: Pacific Coast
City / State: Los Angeles, CA
I am trying to take my work less seriously, while using humor to address issues of importance that stem from the collective consciousness of consumerism, fame, sexuality, and spirituality. I paint abstract text and figuration, which may, or not, say or do anything. Serving as constructs for an image, my paintings address the tactility of a fetishized medium. I want the paintings—thick, thin, sprayed, and neon—to be sexy. Whether painting images of Gram Parsons and Liberace, or comedic phrases such as “Brian Wilson’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake,” I am interested in the frustration or awkwardness that comes alongside the viewing experience. Content may be implied, as in the flamboyantly queer painting of Liberace, but I am more interested in what others bring and take away from the work. An image should succeed as an image before it says anything. Whether my paintings are pleasurable or displeasurable, I am happy. Being lost in translation only shifts one’s discourse.
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