Allan Gorman – Searching for Drama

OPENING RECEPTION  FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2023; 6-8 pmEXHIBITION RUNS  SEPTEMBER 22 – DEC 15, 2023

This Fall, The BrassWorks Gallery welcomes our friend and celebrated artist, Allan Gorman. This show, Searching for Drama, captivates his iconic fusion of hyperrealism and abstract art. Allan Gorman’s artwork takes the viewer on a journey into the drama created by light and shadow on urban structures, machines, and objects. With meticulous attention to detail and a fine-tuned design sense, his intriguing compositions blur the lines between hyperrealism and abstraction.

Gorman’s meticulously crafted compositions, characterized by their incredible attention to detail, represent a remarkable fusion of two distinct artistic realms. Allan states: “I’m drawn to aesthetic surprises I find in real objects — particularly within the confines of industrial structures. Although my paintings are derived from photographs, the focus isn’t necessarily on just making a technically proficient rendering, but rather on sharing the plays of light and shadow, the dance between colors, shapes and contrasts, and overall composition. In this way, I think of my works as abstract paintings in the guise of realism, and I use this criterion to inform my choices of what to paint.”

He continues: “I’ve always found something mysterious, romantic, and nostalgic about the power of cities, machines, nighttime, and the edgy parts of town. I’m a child of the 50s and 60s and have great memories of old NYC’s neon lights and hustle-bustle when old subways had wicker seats, and Jazz was in the air. My influences were the artists of a generation or two before—the NY Ashcan school artists like George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Reginald Marsh; and photographers like Paul Strand, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn. And then, when photorealism and the west-coast artists first came on the scene in the mid-60s and early 70s, I was immediately drawn to the work of Richard Estes, Robert Cottingham, Wayne Thiebault, of course, Richard Diebenkorn, and others who could within the confines of a two-dimensional plane tell a compelling story about their time and society; things I seem to relate to. While acknowledging my predecessors, I’m certainly not trying to imitate them. Although their influence is noticeable in my work, I strive to create art that is unique and interesting enough to make its own statement.”

Gorman’s artworks have been exhibited in numerous museums, such as the Arnot Museum, Springfield Museum of Art, Lyman Al-Lyn Art Museum, Albany Museum of Art, and The State Museum of New Jersey, and commercial galleries, including Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts, Howard Rehs Contemporary, Garvey|Simon NY, Nicole Longnecker Gallery and, CK Contemporary in San Francisco. A multi-venue museum exhibition traveling throughout the USA is on view through 2024. A European exhibition, Galeria ArteLibre’s “20 Years in 20 x 20” was shown at museums in Spain and Italy through 2025. And some of his work is to be included in the Hyp’Art Project, a survey of hyperrealism from its beginnings as an American phenomenon through today’s worldwide movement, with an exhibition in Brussels in 2024. 

Allan is a two-time recipient of The New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship for Painting; resident fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center and ESKFF at Mana Contemporary; Architectural Artist of the Year from ADC’s Art Comes Alive!, the John Collins Award for Oil Painting and the Salmagundi Award from the American Artist’s Professional League, and the Pioneer of Realism award from the International Guild of Realism. He was also selected as one of the 100 Grandmasters of Realist Art by the Salon Des Beaux Arts. His work is in many permanent corporate and private collections. 

The BrassWorks Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 am – 7:00 pm. For information about purchasing a painting or archival pigment print,
contact Allan Gorman, 973-477-3079, email allan@allangorman.com,
visit www.allangorman.com, or follow on Instagram @allangormanart.