THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME by GJ Gillespie Mixed media collage on canvas 49.5 × 37.5 × 1″ 2026 $2,000
Title after the 1968 psychedelic anthem by Max Frost and the Troopers. The title also echoes H.G. Wells — a double resonance between pop culture and literary prophecy.
About the work
This large canvas explores the idea that digital information and nature are not opposites but have merged — that light itself is made of bits, that there is a hidden code behind reality, and that technology no longer imposes on the natural world from outside but has become woven into its fabric.
Hundreds of tiny squares of Japanese papers, found papers, tissue, crossword puzzles, tin foil, acrylic, and oil paint build a dense pixelated field that rises from a dark horizon into a blaze of orange, red, and gold — fire, data, sunset, or all three at once. White lines radiate outward like transmission signals or rays of light. Whether the image reads as hopeful or threatening is left deliberately open.
Exhibition Currently on view in Modern Myth Making, a solo exhibition at Merrill Gardens, Burien, Washington, as part of the City of Burien Gallery Program. June 5 – September 24, 2026.
To purchase Contact GJ Gillespie directly at garjog@gmail.com. All sales handled directly with the artist.
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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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