by GJ Gillespie Mixed media collage on canvas — triptych, three panels, each 36 × 18 × 1.5″
Title after the 1966 garage rock classic by Count Five.
About the work
Based on the ancient fresco from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii — one of the most dramatic and well-preserved mythological paintings from the ancient world — this three-panel triptych depicts a tragic myth from Euripides. King Pentheus of Thebes banned the worship of Dionysus, god of wine and ecstatic ritual. In retribution, Dionysus drove the women of Thebes into collective madness. His own mother Agave, not recognizing him in her frenzy, leads the attack during their wild mountain revelries.
The myth has fascinated artists and writers for two thousand years because it sits at the intersection of power and hubris, the sacred and the savage, the rational and the ecstatic. Euripides understood that the gods punish not those who worship too much but those who refuse to worship at all.
Each panel is built from river clay, tissue, crossword puzzles, COVID test instructions, and found papers on canvas — materials that connect ancient religious madness with contemporary fragmentation. The river clay gives the surface a sculptural, archaeological weight. The crossword puzzles and COVID test instructions arrive from a world trying to make sense of things in pieces, one small box at a time. The Pompeii fresco was buried under ash in 79 AD and survived. These materials may outlast us too.
The Count Five garage rock title arrives because it shares the same raw, uncontrolled energy as the myth — something breaking loose from its container, dangerous and alive.
This triptych is best experienced at scale. It was designed for above a fireplace mantel, the three panels together spanning 5 feet.
Exhibition
- Modern Myth Making, City of Burien Gallery Program at Merrill Gardens, June 5 – September 24, 2026
Publication
- NOVUS Literary Arts Journal, Panel 2, Spring 2026
To purchase The triptych must be sold as a complete set. Contact GJ Gillespie at garjog@gmail.com
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| GJ Gillespie Artist |
Artist Statement
My work exists outside of time. Ancient Greek heroes emerge from supermarket circulars and consumer ephemera. Egyptian pharaohs are built from crossword puzzles. Mid-century abstract figures dissolve into Pacific Northwest landscapes layered with colored tissue and found paper.
Working in mixed-media collage from a 1928 Tudor Revival farmhouse on Whidbey Island, I stand on the shoulders of giants — riffing on cultural icons from Greek mythology, Pompeii frescoes, and the mid-century masters who transformed what painting could express: Arshile Gorky, the Northwest Mystics Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, and Kenneth Callahan.
Titles of each piece are drawn from rock and pop music, connecting ancient imagery with modern soundtracks.
While the themes may seem lofty, viewers will sense a playfulness in the work. Pompeii frescoes meet grocery ads. Ancient Greek busts emerge from fast food wrappers. When it comes to making art I follow the philosophy of Thoreau: the world is but a canvas to our imagination.
Biography
GJ Gillespie (b. 1955) lives and works in a 1928 Tudor Revival farmhouse on Whidbey Island, WA. His mixed-media collage practice draws on the Northwest Mystics, mid-century abstract expressionism, Greek and Roman mythology, and song titles from rock and pop music. He has completed six residencies at the UW Whiteley Center, Friday Harbor Labs. In addition to winning 19 awards, his work has appeared in 77 exhibitions and 214 journal publications.
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| GJ Gillespie Studio |
Gillespie Home overlooking Oak Harbor
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