Artist

Galen Cheney

Artist

Work

My Recent Work

Some of My Recent Works

As a painter who works alone, I was unhindered by the imposed isolation of Covid-19. In fact, it allowed me to really zero in on my studio practice. Here is a small sampling of works completed during this period.

“Unbidden” Acrylic, oil, and oil pastel on collaged canvas, 61 x 46″.

This painting stands out for me in part because of its use of text, which is unusual for me. In general, the painting feels like a puzzle even to me, and the fragments of text add to that sense of mystery and a message that is trying to come forth.

Click Here

"Signal Inward"

Mixed media with paper on collaged canvas, 72 x 71″.

This painting feels closely connected to an earlier body of work which more directly referenced graffiti and street art. Some of the lyrical forms in this painting echo street art tags, while the diversity of ideas expressed through many patches get at notions of decay, history, and many voices layered one over another.

Click Here

"Perceiver"

Acrylic, oil, glitter, spray paint, and grommets on collaged canvas, 70 x 60″.

To me, this painting is about perception and how each of us sees. It is an extremely complex painting, offering views within views within views of a shattering world. Large areas of pale yellow, along with a band of equally spaced grommets across the center give the viewer a point of reference and a place to rest.

Click Here

"Taking Flight"

Acrylic and glitter glue on canvas, 76 x 60″.

More than anything, I think this painting is about energy–avian, floral, tonal, emotional. It is buoyant and alive and in a continual state of expansion.

Click Here

"Double Refraction"

Acrylic and oil on collaged canvas, 72 x 49″.

This painting can barely contain itself within the rectangle. It is about the potency of natural, geologic forces, light, ways of seeing, and color, color, color.

Click Here

“In their visual sophistication and experiential presence, Cheney’s works give rise to an experience; her works unfold under the viewer’s close attention, viscerally, and in some duration, as a seed might germinate in the presence of the sun. The viewer’s process of seeing the paintings mirrors the artist’s process of making them. Seeing them is physical. To see them is to watch them undergoing their subtle shifts of material and topography in a push-pull relationship: they draw you in, and like the palette knife excavates the layers below, they scrape you away.”

– Amy Rahn, Ph.D, Asst. Professor of Art History & Charles Danforth Gallery Director, University of Maine at Augusta

What Kind of Artist Are You?

by Galen | March 2, 2021 | Galen's Art | 0 Comments

When I was in graduate school for painting 30 (!) years ago, it was a rarefied environment where art was pure and uncorrupted by commercial concerns. To even ask about making a living or having a career as an artist was out of the question. It simply wasn't done....

Staying Connected

by Galen | January 21, 2021 | Galen's Art | 0 Comments

We're weary of all things Covid. It has hit some of us extraordinarily hard, others less so, but we have all been impacted by it in ways that may take a generation to fully comprehend. For me, painting and my connection to other artists has been especially vital to...

Pushing Through a Difficult Painting

by Galen | January 21, 2021 | Galen's Art | 4 Comments

Frequently, paintings reach a pivotal moment, a crisis point really, when they are completely stuck, and need to be destroyed in order to move forward. The paralysis is a function of my trying to control the painting and overthink it. I often don't know I am in that...

Contact Me

Get In Touch

Tell me what painting you’re interested in, and I will tell you more about it. Or, if you are a gallery owner interested in showing my work, I’d love to discuss a show with you. Or, if you just want to talk about art, I’ll be very happy to hear from you.