Gregory Block

Often working in oil on canvas, Gregory Block is searching for more than a representational ideal of hyperrealistic landscapes and still lifes. He frequently turns to alternative construction techniques that yield abstract and unexpected results, such as building up a painting out of aluminum cans or using coffee to create images. “There will be an assortment of objects that I find interesting in and of themselves—whether it’s the wear on a boot or the texture of a ceramic mug,” he says. “And I take all of those things that I think are interesting and put them in a pile, and move them around.” He has recently expanded into an abstract idiom, painting in thick calligraphic lines reminiscent of ideogrammatic languages.