About
Artist Statement
Concept and experimentation are integral and span across the body of my work. Although I have always enjoyed exploring and creating in multiple mediums, painting is where I feel the most genuine with my art. My process begins with a concept, and I let the concept dictate the style and techniques with which to best execute a piece or series. I experiment and explore with multiple techniques and styles until I find the one best suited to express, create, and allow the most engaging composition to emerge.
In both the subject matter and style of my compositions, I rarely work conventionally. Whether I’m exploring gender and sexuality, color schemes, movement disorders, or the human figure, a consistent theme of referencing my life has been at the root of everything I create. I invite the audience to look at a piece, sometimes to challenge and evoke thought, and other times to cultivate a shared understanding between artist and viewer.
I used to question whether I had a voice as an artist and have often been criticized for not having a specific “style” and being “all-over-the-place” in my art. I have come to appreciate and embrace this all-inclusive part of myself, because my multi-faceted approach allows me to have a broader perspective and take risks that enable me to evolve and grow as an artist.
Biography
Lenny Gallo has been creating art since he was 7 years old. His formal training began in high school at the Lane Technical Institute in Chicago. He continued his studies at New York City’s prestigious Art Students League, where he remains an active member. His work has been displayed at numerous venues throughout the country, including Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art during their All-City Art Expo, and at the former Chase Café in Chicago, where he and an artist friend collaborated on a joint exhibition entitled “She Said…”
Lenny had the honor of working with Art-o-Mat, an organization that dispenses art worldwide through repurposed cigarette vending machines, where he exhibited his concept, 21st Century Cave Art. Most recently, his work has been on display with Virdian Artists in New York City and the LUMA Projection Festival’s Peg Johnston Living Lights Project in Binghamton, NY. In addition to being an artist, Lenny went to Fordham University in NYC to obtain his MSW. He now works as a talk therapist in addition to creating. Instagram and Facebook: @LennyGalloArt