The Linda Roesch Visual Arts Gallery | Opening reception: Friday, March 13, 5-7 pm | Artist talk: Saturday, March 21, 3-4 PM
Greg Gorman | Exhibition Summary The concept of this exhibition is to explore the process of abstracting landscape, using the Tuscan countryside as a point of departure. The works presented trace progression from relatively representational interpretations of the landscape through successive stages of deconstruction and abstraction, gradually reducing each scene to its essential elements and offering a new way of seeing the familiar. During a visit to Tuscany, Gorman observed how farmland is thoughtfully subdivided by hedgerows and trees that serve as windbreaks and boundaries. These traditional, time-honored manipulations of the land—developed through the practical needs of crop rotation and environmental protection—create a visually ordered terrain. The result is a geometric reconfiguration of open space and the unintentional formation of a semi-sculptural landscape that transcends function, adding another dimension to our experience and appreciation of the scenery. Why abstract nature when accomplished scenic painters so skillfully capture its likeness? Gorman hopes this exhibition demonstrates how abstraction, by reducing a subject to its fundamental forms, seeks the essence of nature rather than its surface appearance. This process of distillation allows the artist to convey underlying structure and energy rather than literal depiction. By presenting a fresh perspective on traditional scenes, the work invites viewers to release the comfort or attachment of the familiar. In confronting a simplified reality, the exhibition aims to expand how we perceive and define beauty.
Greg Gorman | Biography
Greg Gorman’s artistic career has followed multiple intersecting paths. In 1975, he was accepted to the Central School of Arts in London, where he studied drawing, and to a year-long professional program in stained glass design and fabrication at Burleighfield House in Bucks County, England. Over the past five decades, he has applied these complementary disciplines to the development of his artistic practice, working in glass studios in both England and the United States. Since 1984, Gorman has maintained a studio in Lyme Center, New Hampshire, where he continues to complete glass commissions and produce paintings. He joined AVA in 1986 and was fortunate to receive mentorship from Clifford West, whose generosity of guidance and encouragement had a lasting impact. Gorman continues to create new work on a daily basis.
Greg Gorman | Artist Statement
Greg Gorman’s passion for painting and drawing is rooted in his dedicated study of the masters of the late nineteenth and early-to-mid twentieth centuries. In particular, the Colorists of the Blue Rider group have been especially influential, along with other painters who pioneered abstraction and advanced new theories of bold line-work and color. These influences have led Gorman to reimagine traditional genres—landscape, portraiture, and still life—by introducing principles of abstraction in ways that challenge viewers’ expectations. By applying lessons from these pioneering artists, he seeks to produce new interpretations of familiar themes, offering fresh perspectives and new ways of seeing our surroundings.
