Imagine there’s this sad soul whose never seen Greg Gossel’s work. Let me paint that person a picture. The Minneapolis based artist combines expressive interplay of words, images and gesture through a combination of mediums including silkscreen, transfers and found objects. Consider it visual intertextuality. With every piece is not only adding to the dialogue of contemporary art, he’s commenting on it, by the images he uses or doesn’t use.
When I ask him to describe his work in five words to this imaginary individual he tells me, “Mixed-media pop culture mash-up.” The artist admits to collecting vintage pin-up magazines, old comics, newspapers, anything he can utilize.
“I love that aesthetic, and often incorporate a lot of those elements into my own work,” he tells me.
It’s this adherence to a free flowing technique that has made Greg’s work stand out amongst the most vibrant of artists. You can call it his style. This style developed about four or five years ago. While in his final year of undergrad at University of Winsconsin-Eau Claire where he was studying graphic design he began experimenting with mixed-media, collage and appropriation in his studio work. It took about two years of experimenting before his now signature style developed.
“I like to think that my work is always changing and evolving and not necessarily too stuck into one set look or style,” Greg tells me.
Greg is deep in the midst of preparing for his upcoming solo exhibition “Numb” at 941 Geary in San Francisco which is set to open this Summer. He’ll be debuting roughly 30 new original works on canvas and wood include a portrait-based series, and a new series of more abstract collage-based works. In addition he’ll be showing a series of large-scale works on canvas, his largest to date.
“This new work is based heavily in cultural ephemera,” Greg tells me. “found billboard scraps, old tabloids, pulp novels, and superhero comics are all built up and mashed together creating a really rich textured working surface. I’m also incorporating a wide variety of other mediums into the work such as screenprinting, acrylic, enamel, bleach, stains, sanding, etc.”
“This will be the most time I’ve spent preparing for a show to date, and I’m really looking forward to it.” The world is.
The full interview with Greg Gossel appears in the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ issue of Art Nouveau Magazine. Click here to purchase a copy.
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GREATeclectic aka Kendrick Daye is a DJ, artist and the Editor of Art Nouveau Magazine. As a freelance journalist and photographer his work has been featured in the NY Times Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Upscale Magazine, Creative Loafing, Honeymag.com & Yo-Raps.com.
