Garth Weiser

Garth Weiser has carved a unique niche in the art world, one that revolves around the intricate languages of abstraction and the tangible physicality of the painted canvas.

Biography of Garth Weiser

Garth Weiser was born in 1979 in Helena, MT. From 1999 to 2004, he studied at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York, earning a BFA. Later, from 2003 to 2005, he attended the Columbia University of the Arts in New York, where he received an MFA.

His recent solo exhibitions were held at several esteemed venues, including Casey Kaplan, Simon Lee Gallery, The Contemporary Austin, Altman Siegel, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Guild & Greyshkul, and many others.

Moreover, Garth Weiser has participated in numerous group shows, including "Pull My Daisy" at Galerie Lisa Ruyter in Vienna, Austria (2010); "Modern Talking" at The Museum of Art in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2012); "Never Look Back When Leaving" at Casey Kaplan in New York, NY (2014); "The Campaign for Art" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, CA (2016); "Selections from the Marciano Collection" at the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles, CA (2018); "Fresh Faces from The Rachofsky Collection" at SITE131 in Dallas, TX (2021), among others.

Weiser's paintings and prints have found homes in various collections, including the UBS Collection in Zurich, The Whitworth Art Gallery at the University of Manchester in Manchester, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY, the De Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, CA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, CA, and many others.

Currently, the artist lives and continues to create s in New York, NY. 

Garth Weiser's Art Style

Garth Weiser's artistry is centered on the languages of abstraction and the tactile nature of painted surfaces. Marked by tangible materiality and texture, along with a notable synthesis of addition and subtraction, Weiser's densely textured body of work highlights his profound fascination with the evolution of painting.

His artistic process involves layering abstraction upon abstraction, where each distinct stratum embodies a unique history in terms of content, form, and materiality. The outcome is a gestural surface embellished with shimmering layers of thick pigment. These highly textured paintings bear a resemblance to fossilized slabs, inviting close examination due to their tangible texture.

The vascular textures of Weiser's pieces elicit chromatic vibrations and optical illusions. Multiple perspectives and after-images emerge and recede, with tributaries intersecting and intertwining, giving rise to a new and intricate visual language firmly grounded in the tradition of abstract painting.

In a departure from his earlier work, which prominently featured a keen interest in graphic and geometric design, drawing inspiration from the Op Art movement, Weiser's artistic practice took a new direction as he began exploring composition, agency, and intention. He challenged the conventions of abstract expressionism by utilizing various effects, techniques, and materials.

In his most recent body of work, Weiser draws from a diverse range of art historical influences by incorporating printed images onto a canvas layered with thick oil paint. He then subjects these images to claw-like lacerations, enabling the underlying paint to seep through the surface. This process enhances the intertwined patterns, further enriched by the vascular texture of the vibrant colors, resulting in a compelling visual tapestry.