John Phillip Abbott's Geometric Abstraction with Airbrush at Galerie Xippas

Galerie Xippas in Paris presents 'New Day', an exhibition of American painter John Phillip Abbott's works from January 11 to February 15, 2020. Abbott, 45, creates geometric abstractions using an airbrush on raw canvas, a deliberately imprecise tool that introduces blur and risk of smudging. His compositions combine a dark geometric grid of parallel lines, rectangles, triangles, or diamonds with random fluorescent spots, creating a tension between two planes. The grid is made with adhesive tape, and the solid areas feature deep tones like black-brown and black-green. Unlike Op Art illusions, Abbott's instability arises from the competition between the random spots and the grid. Each grid cell corresponds to a letter, forming words or dates readable in the titles, which are autobiographical references such as song titles, car names, or sports teams. This introduces personal narrative into geometric abstraction, traditionally devoid of such references. The exhibition spans two spaces, with the more complex series upstairs featuring large near-square formats reminiscent of Martin Barré. Works include 'Utopia', 'The Big Shade', 'Cosmos', and 'New Day'. The artist's approach challenges viewers to decipher the embedded words, adding a third layer beyond the visual interplay of forms.