John Torreano - 2025 Space: Looking In Looking At

This exhibition showcases Torreano's explorations with recent examples of his wood column and round edged paintings. These works alter the traditional idea of painting by presenting stretched canvases as 3-dimensional forms and, conversely, emphasize his wood columns as paintings. 

Both columns and paintings utilize his signature acrylic gems. These add an alluring layer to the work by creating constellations of glistening points that interact with the viewer’s movement.  Like the columns, the paintings challenge hierarchical perspectives, allowing for a democratic viewing experience where each angle offers a new facet of the artwork.

Inspired by his fascination with the complexities of the cosmos, Torreano’s “sculptural" paintings invite viewers to "look in space" and to "look at" the object. The bulging edge of the canvases enhance their physicality pushing the artwork outward into the gallery, creating an immediate and tangible presence. In contrast, each gem reflects light in a way that shifts and adapts, reminding the viewer of their unique place within the gallery space.

With Torreano's work, meaning is not fixed or contained in the object; rather it emerges through the personal experience of each observer. The artist presents the work as an open system, a dialogue between the art object, the environment and the viewer. The viewer becomes the author. As they move in relation to these dynamic surfaces, their perspectives integrate, inviting them to see and thus feel their way through Torreano’s vibrant universe.