C Gregory Gummersall

C. Gregory Gummersall began his professional art career primarily as a West Coast artist. In the 1990s, Gummersall returned to an 80-acre ranch near Durango, Colorado, which suits his needs for quiet space in which to create art. Influenced by artists such as John Corbett, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly and Richard Diebenkorn, Gummersall’s paintings have an energetically gestural, spontaneous quality. His brushstrokes suggest symbols or signs whose meanings can be sensed but never fully grasped. They are reminiscent of adrenaline-filled quickly drawn graffiti. But unlike the temporary existence of most graffiti, Gummersall’s brushstrokes and use of collage build upon each other to create a sense of memory in the canvases; nothing is erased and through the layers of paint, the history of his marks remains visible. “The advance mystery of making aesthetic sense by working with the puzzled balancing’s, coherent compositions, complementary colors, and surfaced layers into rhythmic shared things of beauty is the reward. My secondary application of ‘ground’ over ‘figure’ illustrates my unusual interest in balancing the spontaneity of ‘chaos’ with the need for ‘order’. It also utilizes the free form of expressionist seemingly random marks with the more minimal ordering via painting out the excess chaos that then forms a new ground. Rhythmic lines, as architectural elements, add to the gestalt.” As an artist, with never-ending creative challenges, he gets easily bored with repetition. In the art business, where repetition sells, Gummersall had concerns that the range of his different series styles might be viewed as immature or unfocused. His friend (and former museum director), Mr. Gerald Nordland, informed him of how greats like Picasso and Matisse also worked in many different style series changes. Coming from such a respected art scholar, the advice was reassuring. His cycling back through the various series over the past 35+ years results in change, interest, and the needed growth of added variety. “My primary objective is to add beauty and expanded awareness to the viewers of my art. Contrary to much of the art world’s Shock Art, I hope that my art communicates on a higher plane and provides a refuge in a troubled world.” Gummersall’s art is in numerous private, corporate and public collections including the Fordham University Museum at Lincoln Center, Federal Reserve Bank Chicago, Palm Springs Art Museum, Deutsche Bank, Toyota, Tucson Museum of Art, ANA Sheraton Hotel in Osaka, Pacific Bank, BMW and Four Seasons among others. Gummersall was also included in the 183rd National Academy Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary American Art in New York.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract, landscape and still-life paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs. Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel. Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color?

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by popular artists and more today.