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| 58 Artworks in 9 Window Store Fronts |
City of Burien Gallery Program at Merrill Gardens
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| Shine On You Crazy Diamond by GJ Gillespie. |
MAKING MODERN MYTHS
GJ Gillespie Art Solo Show
WHY THIS EXHIBITION MATTERS
This show represents several milestones converging:- My recent achievement of 200+ publications in literary journals and magazines Recognition as a Best of the Net 2026 nominee
- Seven years of sustained artistic development (2018-2025)
- 58 pieces demonstrating the breadth of my practice
- A four-month duration providing significant community exposure
- Partnership with the City of Burien's established gallery program.
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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.
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| Ozymandias Number 9 by GJ Gillespie. |
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.
This exhibition brings together 58 works organized in three series:
- Ancient Echoes — Greek and Roman mythological figures reimagined through collage
- Midcentury Rifts — abstract figures in dialogue with Gorky and mid-century expressionism
- Mystic Landscapes — abstract landscapes reflecting the luminous, wind-swept terrain of Whidbey Island
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 212 journal publications.
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| GJ Gillespie's Oak Harbor Studio. |
INDEX — MODERN MYTHS — 2026 City of Burien Gallery Program. Nine store front windows filled with art
TITLE INDEX:
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| WINDOW 8 Midcentury Rifts |
PERONAL NOTE:
This exhibition represents years of work, hundreds of hours in the studio, and countless explorations of how ancient stories continue to resonate in our contemporary moment. I'm grateful to the City of Burien for this opportunity and excited to share this body of work with a broader audience.
For more information about my work, visit the Portraits, Landscapes, and Figurative galleries on this site.
All works are for sale.
Contact: garjog@gmail.com | 425-889-9418
GJ Gillespie Artist
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| WINDOW #5 Midcentury Rifts |
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| WINDOW #9 Mystic Landscapes |
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| WINDOW #6 Midcentury Rifts |
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| WINDOW 8 Midcentury Rifts |
TITLE INDEX:
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