John McLaughlin's paintings and drawings are part of his own lineage of abstraction that has evolved over some thirty years. McLaughlin's work has always arisen from an earnest search for resolution in a range of gestures, movements and erasures. The appearance and meaning of the resolution has developed in the meandering progression of the creative process. McLaughlin continues his investigation into the possibilities of the accidental along with the more deliberate forms and lines in both nature and the man made world. The labors are personal, but also come from a place of acutely studied history of art, design and music. Similar to a musical composition, McLaughlin slowly creates his paintings by building on and modifying motifs applied in previous layers. He embraces improvisational gestures and incidents allowing some of the previous marks to show in a palimpsestic manner.
Among this rich layering are fits and starts of lines, doodles and sketches. This action occurs in so many layers, that some images are barely perceivable, giving us insight into McLaughlin's thought process and leaves you searching for more clues. On the top layer are hazy spaces of the paintings hard-lined, organic shapes of color and line drawings that conjure a quirky aggregate of the ancient, scientific and industrial hieroglyphs. The paintings are a steady, engrossing read that gradually reveal their history and resolve. McLaughlin's work on canvas involves the unintended or accidental effect of a mark or gesture drawn over a period of time and many paint layers. This allows the viewer to form their own conclusion based on each individual imagination and past experience.
