Mike Weiss Gallery presents “Drop Dead, Gorgeous,” an exhibition of new work by Canadian artist Graham Gillmore on view April 2 – May 2, 2009. Gillmore is widely known for his loosely executed text based imagery that reflects his idiosyncratic observations on society and the people in his own life. For this new body of work Gillmore explores the surfaces of some less familiar media and the psychology of the language which serves as the visual signifier.

Featuring paintings on paper and canvas, Gillmore’s new work is a departure from his lustrous oil and enamel on carved panels. Drawing from such disparate inspiration as a lover’s private letter to her ex, short answer psychological survey evaluations and a vintage edition of Norman Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking”, the paintings both visibly and literally fracture the language of the text. Broken down into each individual letter, words fall from the tops of large colorful canvases and phrases actualize in black acrylic on stark white paper.

Gillmore gives new meaning and context to the wording in his paintings by extracting sentences from their fundamental sources. He places them in bold, bright block letters on naked paper and atop scribbled journal pages offering a new interpretation of the letters dancing in the foreground.

Graham Gillmore lives and works in New York City and Winlaw, British Colombia. Gillmore has exhibited in a number of international exhibitions including “Learn to Read,” 2007 at the Tate Modern, London, England. His work will be featured in The Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition “Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection” April 22 – July 27.