Gregory Grenon
We are pleased to present “Coloring Temperament,” an exhibition of new paintings by Gregory Grenon, one of the most recognized artists in the Northwest. Grenon continues his work as a colorist and explains, “My imagination jumps with color, makes me think differently and makes the viewer see the temperament of the subject I paint.” His approach is incredibly honest. These portrait-like images are strong, haunting and frank. They engage the viewer with their outward glances. The rawness with which he chooses to lay down his compositions results in a dynamic range of intensely expressive characters revealing thoughts, internal rhythms and emotional content. Grenon combines contemporary subject matter with a highly developed color palette. He paints directly on the surface, on the reverse side of the glass, a technique he discovered on his own, but is also steeped in Russian folk tradition. His frames come from eclectic sources: old doors, windows, an old clock, and a ship portal, which are worked into the design. These striking paintings show Grenon’s passionate and evocative use of line and color.
Gregory Grenon grew up in Detroit where he studied at the Center for Creative Studies. After a stint in Chicago, where he furthered his printmaking skills at Landfall Press, he moved to the Pacific Northwest. Throughout his career, he has had one-person exhibitions throughout the region as well as in New York, Chicago, Boston and New Orleans. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oregon Arts Commission. His work is in numerous private and public collections including the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, OR; the Portland Art Museum; the Seattle Art Museum; the Tacoma Art Museum; the Boise Art Museum; Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK; and New York Public Library. Grenon recently completed a series of lithographic prints with Mahaffey Fine Art.