Garrett Gassman

When you think of me.. You should think of fire..

It was so much fun to have everyone at my showing thank you!

I’ll see you again soon!

My first collection started in the early months of 2020. When the world shut down and daily life in Portland came to a halt, I found myself looking inward.

What started as a response to isolation became the beginning of a much longer journey one where I began to truly understand my process, my perspective, and my direction as an artist.

In my latest article, Creating Surreal Memory, I’m sharing the story of those first few months and how they shaped everything I’ve created since.

Read the full story at the link in my bio.

Mark Rothko has been one of the biggest influences on my work since I started painting. It’s not just his paintings that inspire me, it’s his process, his life, the way he saw the world and people, and how he expressed what he felt so deeply.

His work speaks to human emotion, capturing its essence through multiple layers and unique colors.

His art is often misunderstood. People wonder why he was so great when, technically, his paintings are quite simple, and why so many are drawn to them. It’s not because he was technically a great painter; he was unique. Over the years, as his work has traveled around the world, people have noticed an interesting balance of strong reactions and indifference to it. I find that interesting. Rothko’s mission was to paint emotion in the same way Mozart did with music, but this is often overlooked.

Much like Rothko’s work, I believe his influence on mine has helped me discover something unique: an ability to not just feel deeply, but to think deeper and ask why.

In my work, I always say, “If I can raise your state of consciousness when you experience it, I did my job right” good or bad, happy or sad. It changes you. It’s my mission to understand why and how. My first painting collection, From the Shadows, helped me through some of the hardest times, some of the darkest years, when I didn’t know what to do or where to go, and I felt alone. It changed me. And so, that is my pursuit: to understand, to explore, to bring the human condition to life, to dig deeper than even Rothko ever did and share it with those who experience and enjoy my work.

Love.