On View

John McAllister Shows His Vibrant Landscapes at Berlin’s WENTRUP Gallery

See images of the artist's first solo show in Germany.

John McAllister Cymbals Without Sound (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.

Henri Neuendorf

Showcasing their latest recruit, Berlin’s WENTRUP Gallery will show a solo exhibition dedicated to the American painter John McAllister.

In his first exhibition with the gallery and his first exhibition in Germany, McAllister continues his exploration of vibrantly colored landscape painting within the tradition of mise-en-abyme—the picture within a picture.

In his new paintings the artist maintains his unique palette of fluorescent orange, deep purple, and tranquil turquoise, which at once appear familiar and foreign. Strongly influenced by photography, the works resemble the coloration of negative film, while the canvasses also incorporate multiple images overlapped, like layered postcards or photographs.

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John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister Cymbals Without Sound (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister Sways Soft Clamouring (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister Sultry Daze Divested (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister Shed Such Shanty Seas (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister A Sea Shines Softly (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister A Calm That Glistened (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister at WENTRUP, Berlin.
John McAllister Bright Crowned Summers Asunder (2016). Photo: Trevor Good, courtesy of the artist and WENTRUP, Berlin.

By framing multiple pictures laid over the top of other surfaces—lying on the carpet or hanging over wallpaper—McAllister depicts his landscapes not only as the subject, but also as an object.

Stylistically McAllister’s influences are strongly linked to modernism, reinterpreting the legacy of Impressionist painters. The interplay between landscapes and interiors evoke Matisse’s seminal work The Open Window (1905), as well as the painting of Georges Braque or, more recently, the work of pop artist David Hockney.

While the bushy trees, leaves, and grasses of his earlier work reflect the Californian vegetation of the artist’s former workplace in Los Angeles, his recent relocation to Northampton, Massachusetts, is reflected in his latest paintings, which depict more luscious greenery typified by his new home in New England on the East Coast.

“John McAllister: CHORUS CLAMORS SULTRY” runs from October 28 – December 31, 2016 at WENTRUP, Berlin.

Henri Neuendorf
Article topics
Contemporary

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