Background: |
James F. Lorigan’s art is carefully
orchestrated with luminous color and rich brushstrokes. These
seductive strokes of his paintings and the elegant sensuous
lines of his prints are born out of his passionate reverence
for the craft of art making.
As one engages Lorigan’s art, beyond the seduction,
it quickly becomes obvious that the work is about fable, myth
and morality. What is less obvious, but perhaps more significant,
is that these paintings and prints are a documentation of
his personal journey through life. They reference specific
trials, tribulations and memorable, albeit sometimes mundane,
incidences in the artist’s life, and his response to
the world at large as he sees it unfold through life experience,
conversations, television, radio and newspapers. Lorigan takes
it all in and combines, filters and organizes it into narratives
that seem to make some sense out of it all while ultimately
leaving the larger questions open ended.
Lorigan graduated from Cal State University Fullerton in
1994 with his MFA in painting and printmaking. He also completed
his MA in printmaking in 1993. Since graduation Lorigan has
participated in more than 80 exhibitions. Currently, he is
a master printmaker and owns Watermark Printmaking Workshop
in Santa Ana, CA. He produces fine art etchings and lithographs
in limited editions with artist of merit. He is also the chair
of the Art Department at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita,
California, where he teaches drawing, painting and printmaking.
A 26-page catalogue is available at the exhibition. |