STATEMENT

Jim McGrath’s work reflects many years of experimentation with various mixed media processes that have become integral to his style. He has developed a number of innovative techniques to enable him to weave and layer paint, text, and imagery. Nature’s effects on man-made materials and imagery, such as the decaying posters city walls, and industrial corrosion are his main source of inspiration. The work straddles the line between abstract-expressionism and pop, and it has a pronounced graphic quality because of its origins. McGrath’s work conveys an organic unity of line and color within a tactile realm that invites touch.

McGrath works in acrylics and his primary material are tatters and scraps of acrylic paint ripped from plastic drop cloths. Before paint is applied to the drop cloths, he builds up a coating of transparent acrylic medium, and then he paints on the surface with a variety of techniques. After the paint is dry, a thin membrane of paint can be pulled from the plastic. The tatters are then collaged on to the canvass; the acrylic membrane adheres to the acrylic surface of the painting and additional medium and medium is applied to affix them permanently. Text and images are also collaged onto the paintings; McGrath works with them as if they were another medium just like paint. Acrylic medium is applied to the paper on which a reverse image has been printed, and then it is then pressed onto the canvases. Once the medium has dried the paper is scrubbed off, and the forward image remains in the medium. In many instances an advertisement or page of text is transferred to the entire canvas using the same technique prior to the application of any paint. Further work is done with brushes, pallet knives, sticks and stencils. And so it goes, in erratic cycles, until a dense weaving of paint, text and imagery is built up.

Varying the application of paint and water on to the drop cloths creates different levels of opacity, drops and pools of paint, new blends of color, and crackles that subsequently interact with the painting in inadvertent ways. Tearing the scraps of paint from the drop cloths introduces an element of randomness to the work and mimics the affects of nature on manmade materials. When thin, semi-transparent tatters of paint are collaged onto the surface of the painting, new combinations of colors and opacity emerge. This method produces layers of paint that combine in extraordinary ways. The process also results in imperfections, mistakes, either intentional or found abound. McGrath takes advantage of this, and errors become things that spur on the creative process. His careful selection and placement of the specific tatters of paint that are ultimately affixed to the canvas balances the randomness of the process with a meticulous compositional approach.

McGrath uses tools such as digital photography, scanners, projectors and the computer to produce the initial drawings he works from. Precise visions of color and composition created with Photoshop and printed for reference. After paint is collaged to the canvass, more work is usually necessary to insure the completed painting measures up to his vision. Additional painting is done, and sometimes additional text or imagery is added. A final varnish is applied to enhance the work’s color and heighten transparency which serves to tighten the weave and further integrate the materials to maintain visual unity.

The content of McGrath’s work draws on a rich history of storytelling from myriad sources including history, mythology, religion, science, and popular culture. Boundaries between genres are broken down and subject matter is mixed together to form new combinations. For example, scientific display parameters from charts and graphs attempt to chronicle unknowable mythological events or religious beliefs No particular subject matter is considered high or low; it’s all a part of the weave. A multitude of icons, from wings to doors to trees to monkeys to hammers to red kings to worms, have revealed themselves over time. The icons conjure up universal themes and big questions, from the Tower of Babble to the morality of dropping the atomic bomb. The work displays grand themes unapologetically, and the uncensored creative process is made visible. Childhood memories are ever present, and that unbridled creative spirit and naivety intermingles playfully with more significant themes.

Some recent paintings feature iconic worms moving through layers of paint and text that reference mankind’s greatest achievements, both mythical and historical. Just as archaeologists have a modern day perspective on the history they attempt to reconstruct by excavating the remains of human activity, worms too, have a unique perspective. Simple creatures become powerful icons of witnessing all that man has ever created. In the smaller canvasses the worms crawl through the history of drawing. However, it is not drawing from art history proper; the subjects are a cross section of American icons from “Test Your Talent” advertisements that appeared in comic books in the 1960’s.

McGrath’s newest series of work, Surprise Packages, represents a highly evolved stage of the techniques he has been developing for years. An original palette of colors and a formal ingenuity elevates text and texture to a striking and prominent role. In this series, McGrath, as in the past, uses advertisements from silver age comic books as a background. This under girding serves to balance the structure of the painting, then when the surprise package itself is painted on top of the image is tightens the weave and merges abstract-expressionism and pop. This weaving combined with the rich interplay of printed surfaces and brush strokes, gives the pieces a rich quality that transcends typical painting in both look and effect. Thematically, the Surprise Package celebrates the creative process and the joy of finding new combinations of color, texture or meaning in painting. Yet, there is also something ominous about the images, as anyone who has heard a warning announcement over a public address system in an airport or on a subway can attest to.