Fortification of Mass Incarcerations: Prison Grid 1.0 Painting

Garry F. Grant b. 1971 Painter Garry Grant was born in Detroit, Michigan and is based in New York City. He works methodically with techniques traditionally found in frame restoration, most notably his trademark gilding. Grant began his career as a figurative artist but in the last decade has turned to abstract painting, focusing more on innovative materials and the use of color than narrative or subject matter. Grant's abstracts have several unique characteristics. Using gold, silver and copper leaf for the underpinning of his large-scale works, he builds variegated metals onto the canvas to create vibrancy and varying degrees of depth to the background. Layers of handmade clay and gesso also constitute the support. For the foreground, he applies acrylic paint by splashing it onto the canvas by hand and manipulating the paint until attenuated forms cover the painting. Grant often adds pressure to the canvas to bring about a cracked-pattern effect caused by the clay underneath the paint, adding a rich texture to the composition. He finishes with hand-painted brush highlights to each individual form and then shellacs the painting for a high gloss. Grant often includes geometric shapes within the composition but also the shape of the canvas itself. The austerity of the gilding in the background, contrasted with the exuberant color of the foreground, bring a kind of tension to the compositions. The tone of the paintings convey a sense of rhythm; the forms expressive movement. A theme that has been a point of focus in Grant's work is the nature of communication in modern society (Life is a 3-Ring Circus, 2012). Grant counts among his many influences Norman Lewis, Sam Gilliam, Mark Rothko, and Al Loving whose work he was exposed to at an early age. Inspired in part by the work of Diego Rivera, his new work, Detroit Industrial Complex, is a series that responds to the urban blight and decay he has seen in his hometown in recent years. Grant attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit where he studied graphic communication. He continued his studies at the American College of Applied Arts in Atlanta, while he worked as a framer. Grant is currently pursuing his online degree in Computer Science at New York City College of Technology. Grant moved to New York in 2008 where he currently has a studio in Brooklyn and Manhattan.