John Leahy

When I paint, I release myself to the process, seeking mental states of flow. I have developed a distinctive visual vocabulary through years of observation and experimentation. Using water based media to play with texture and layers of color that flow and bifurcate, I create evocative personal dreamscapes. My compositions come from drawing, painting, and mono-printing techniques to explore themes which emerge from my subconscious, memories, and experiences. I have been influenced by the Surrealists, Abstract Expressionists, and the Northwest School (among other art canons) in how I use the creative process to explore imagery, process, and emotion. While I stand on the shoulders of giants, I am also unique in how I consolidate my personal experiences into evocative images that are at once personal yet tap into the universal collective consciousness. My work makes connections with spatial juxtapositions playing with metaphors of space and time within the picture plane, often extending within a series of paintings. The artworks record overlapping moments infused with archetypes and narratives. I want to invite the viewer to contemplate figure ground relationships, connecting to a shared psychological experience. It is through art that we can connect in ways that go beyond literal, verbal, and explicit language to a more figurative, ephemeral, and implicit form of communication. 

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