The Art of James Gallagher

The Art of James Gallagher

James Gallagher uses collage to investigate human form and personal identity. Piecing together images cut from discarded books, forgotten issues of National Geographic, and the occasional vintage sex-manual, Gallagher creates intimate scenes that play out in a world of muted forms.

Gallagher’s art has been shown in galleries all over the world. Currently he is curating collage exhibitions in New York and Berlin. He was included in the Gestalten’s Art Edition Series, and his work has recently shown at the 2009 Scope Basel in Switzerland as well as NADA in Maimi. Gallagher has produced work for Arkitip, Stussy, J&L Books, Nerve.com, and Virgin Mobile. His art has been featured in American Illustration, Communication Arts, Society of Publication Designers, and a variety of Die Gestalten Publications.

Gallagher earned a BFA in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts in New York City. In addition to creating art, Gallagher is a Creative Director for a Marketing Firm and an Instructor at Parsons the New School for Design. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three kids.

James tells me, “I believe in the secret behavior of human beings. Capturing a fleeting moment or revealing a hid¬den world is what I strive to do. And if I’m successful, I am able to glimpse some of the beauty, ugliness, solitude, and desire that exists in us all. My collaged pieces focus on personal space, physical relationships, and enigmatic situations. The human forms that I create have obscured identities, allowing for their actions to convey the drama. I construct my scenes by sifting-through, and piecing-together imagery cut from obscure books and magazines. In a constant state of layering paper, moving shapes, adding and subtract¬ing colors, I am waiting for figures to form, and something exciting to happen. And when it does, when I have spotted that brief moment in time that feels so natural, or unnatural, that’s when I leave it up to the viewer to decide what it all means.”

View more of James work

James Gallagher  /  Gallagherj@mindspring.com  /  www.JamesGallagher.blogspot.com