John Grasso Abstract Art Series

John Grasso (Australian, b. 1970)

The Gathering , 2026

Oil on canvas
80 × 50 cm
Signed lower left
Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity

In The Gathering, John Grasso transforms the human crowd into a restless field of colour, movement and gesture. Figures appear and disappear within an intensely worked surface, their forms suggested through fragments of line, colour and painterly abrasion rather than conventional description.

Deep reds, rusts, violets and smoky blues are punctuated by flashes of white, pink, orange and yellow. The densely layered brushwork creates an almost physical sense of movement, as though the crowd is continuously forming, shifting and dispersing before the viewer.

Grasso’s approach sits between figuration and abstraction: the human presence remains recognisable, yet individual identities are deliberately obscured. What emerges is less a portrait of particular people than an exploration of collective presence, energy and human interaction.

The paintings heavily worked surface rewards close viewing, revealing successive marks and gestures beneath the dominant mass of colour. From a distance, the composition reads as a single turbulent gathering; up close, fragments of figures continually reveal themselves within the painterly field.

The Gathering is characteristic of Grasso’s 2026 exploration of the crowd as both subject and abstract visual structure.

Artist

John Grasso (b. 1970, Mareeba, Queensland) is a self-taught Australian artist of Sicilian heritage, based in Cairns, Far North Queensland. His practice encompasses vibrant abstract and figurative painting, reflecting an ongoing exploration of colour, movement, culture and the expressive possibilities of oil paint.

Artist Statement

John Grasso 

My paintings are an exploration of colour, movement and the physical act of painting. I am interested in what happens when layers of paint, marks and colour interact rather than being completely controlled.

I work intuitively, allowing the painting to develop through repeated application, scraping, drawing and repainting. Colour is central to the process. Strong contrastscan create energy, while darker passages provide depth and allow brighter colours to emerge.

My surroundings in Far North Queensland, my interest in Japanese culture and my experience with martial arts have all contributed to the way I approach painting. I am interested in balance, discipline and movement, but also in the freedom that comes from allowing a painting to evolve.

I want the viewer to encounter the work directly—to move through its colours, textures and marks and form their own response.

My practice draws upon Japanese culture, Monet, Van Gogh, Joan Mitchell and Indigenous art, as well as martial arts and Samurai ethics.