JOHN DEMPCY
Seattle, WA
Past Exhibitions Biography CV Statement Press
John Dempcy grew to find the environment of the Pacific Northwest to be a source of inspiration to his burgeoning creative endeavors. For John, art has always been a natural way to express a deep emotional tie to the area and its intricate web of life. Referencing the physical and life sciences, his work strives to reflect the interconnectedness of complex systems while conveying a sense of the beauty and mystery inherent in the unfolding process of life.
Dempcy’s representation of grids and dripping motifs simulates strumming a chord on guitar, the painted lines like the strings of an instrument, brushstrokes interrupting the variant colors, working back and forth with shades of blue and yellow, red and green layering and building emotion like a musical interlude. Each band signifies a frequency or sound waves that exalts a synchronous palette.
Before beginning a piece he pores through books examining microbiology, music, or quantum physics, his art then becomes an imaginative map of transient discovery. He allows the act of painting to be preeminent, threads of ideas developing from a deeply subconscious place.
“I come to my work with ideas I’ve considered or developed and try to realize them in a painting. It usually fails. There is always a struggle and I find it is often with my ego pressing for a particular outcome. It is when I surrender my conceit, let the subconscious take over, and just respond to the paint and color that I find discovery and resolution in a painting.”
His method is in tandem with minimalist and process art, and he cites inspiration from Washington artist Jaq Chartier.
FEATURED WORKS
Born in 1958 in Seattle, WA, John Dempcy earned his BA in Art and his AA degree in Graphic Design. Dempcy received the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant in 2019 a prestigious award dedicated to 125 artists each year and has established his reputation through exhibitions around the United States, with his paintings holding residence in numerous private, public, and corporate collections including Microsoft, the Swedish Medical Group, and the University of Oregon.
RECENT WORKS
