John Grasso Art. The Gathering Series

John Grasso (b. 1970)

The Gathering Series — 2026

Oil on canvas
80 cm × 50 cm
12 oz canvas
Signed lower left “JG”
Original artwork

Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity

The Gathering Series is an expressive figurative abstraction depicting a large crowd brought together within a compressed, vertically oriented field. Rather than presenting clearly defined individual portraits, John Grasso builds the crowd through hundreds of energetic, overlapping strokes. Each figure appears as a fragment—suggested through a head, shoulder, body or gesture—while simultaneously becoming part of the larger collective.

The painting is alive with movement and human presence. Dark, rounded marks frequently read as heads scattered throughout the composition, while elongated strokes of violet, turquoise, blue, grey, pink, white and yellow suggest bodies standing close together. The figures overlap and intermingle so extensively that the distinction between one person and another is continually shifting.

The crowd appears to extend beyond the physical boundaries of the canvas. There is no obvious foreground or background, and no single individual dominates. Instead, Grasso presents the gathering as a collective human presence

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:
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.