Patrick Gorman, Bitter Tears
Exhibition • March 4–26, 2022
Reception Friday, March 4, 6–9pm.
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Patrick Gorman’s work highlights the facet of art-making that distinguishes the indistinguishable. By choosing an everyday object like tuna cans as a substrate, Gorman alerts the viewer to the changes that took place when transforming the can into something unique, individualizing one from many through embroidery, laser cutting, collage, and painting.
Though it is easy to experience a sense of dread or emptiness when considering the scale of mass production and consumption, industrial society should not be cowered away from. Gorman’s mixed media pieces demonstrate the importance of the artist’s role to interact with the material world, without entirely condemning or praising it, by meeting the material halfway instead of retreating into a work habit of regression and blind traditionalism. Through Gorman’s attempt to ride the tide of modernity, instead of cowering from its various monstrosities, viewers can witness an object that is now exquisitely unique while simultaneously being aware of its past and of what steps were taken to transform it from one of many to one of one.
About the Artist
Patrick Gorman is a Texas-based artist from Dallas. His work includes collage, assemblage, animation, and portraiture. Originally a painter, Patrick began focusing on collage and assemblage in 2021. Over the past year, Patrick’s collage work has evolved to include new materials, including transparent plastic, dyed silkscreen, and laser-cut acrylic. Patrick received his BFA in painting from Texas State University with a minor in art history. He currently lives in San Marcos.