Was│Once

Works by John Heintzman

Join us for the First Friday Opening Reception: February 6, 2026

On view: February 6-27, 2026 in the Main Gallery and Project Space

This exhibition is supported by Deborah Lovely.

“The bold, layered murals are composed of individual collages;  when installed, they act in concert as one. The mutability of images adjoin and overlap each other, creating a varied and unique pictorial context.

Each work is composed of gestures and colorful planes, and when placed next to each other, they create a rhythm with unexpected pauses—much like a musical composition. The grid pattern mimics a written score with a less structured pattern.

The intention of filling space with a unique visual conversation allows individuals to independently interpret the whole experience and discover a different meaning each time they pass. This dialogue is active—flowing between ambiguity and visual legibility, and engages the public with an active field of color and an implied sense of energy.

Most of my work is the result of a repetitive process of composition and deconstruction. The starting point is an intuitive and spontaneous practice of drawing, which leads to cutting and tearing to confirm the composition. The interpretation we make reveals to us what our unconscious has to say. The artwork speaks to us and opens up unexplored paths through simple abstraction.

The impulses to create the action are sometimes coupled with the constraints of an abstract language, but they remain emotional, effective, and limitless nonetheless. As these marks “bind,” “unbind,” and “rebind,” they open up space for personal interpretation.”