Art Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 2024 / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm @ 12 Vassar Street

The Proposal by John McGiff

John McGiff has been a painter for over forty years, receiving his BFA from SUNY Purchase and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania.  His recent series of paintings reinterprets Classic Greek mythological tales and address the challenges and the possibility of self-transformation.  Using the palette and design patterns of Indian Ragamala paintings, Indian block printing and gouache, Mr. McGiff employs vibrant colors that endeavors light to shine through the work. “I am naturally inclined towards making groups of images, exploring a central idea and evolving a language of gesture, color and design that best expresses this narrative interest,” he relays.  “For example, the theme is the house as a repository of personal and historical memory, as well as a metaphor for the self.”  Mr. McGiff recently relocated to the Hudson Valley area from Delaware where he was Chair of the Arts Department at an Independent Boarding school for 20+ years.  He currently teaches art history for Vassar’s Life Long Learning Institute and has exhibited his work in a myriad of venues across the mid-Atlantic region of the Unites States.