Saturday

John Waguespack Deconstructs Hollywood

Painter John Waguespack is the consummate outsider artist. A former ad agency creative director, he hasn’t looked back since opting out of his day job to pursue a full-time painting career. Waguespack’s second solo show, “Deconstructing Hollywood,” is on view through January 21st at the esteemed McLoughlin Gallery at 49 Geary.

As a testament to his ability, Waguespack scored an uncharacteristic early break. Through a twist of fate, with nominal nepotism, manipulation or publicity, John landed his first solo show a year ago after catching the eye of gallerist Joan McLoughlin. Despite his thin resume, she was impressed enough to offer him a solo show at her namesake gallery in the heart of SF.

Embodying a vibrant color pallet and using a linear form of deconstruction, with oil on canvas as his dominant medium, Waguespack’s new series, “Deconstructing Hollywood,” created in LA in the summer of 2011, examines LA, its people and iconography. It reflects on the stark contrasts between California’s north and south both in terms of personality and geography.

“In this series, I deconstructed and reconstructed people and images,” he says. “I deconstructed them to understand what they looked like on an atomic level and I reconstructed them to understand what parts made up a whole. Essentially, it’s about my time in Hollywood. Not just the ethos of celebrity but the geography and its personality. The series also serves as a commentary on the people of LA.”

He adds, “On a personal level, it’s harder to connect with people in Los Angeles. San Francisco is smaller, the people are more indoor-based, and Los Angeles has such great weather, promoting people to get outside, yet oddly those in Los Angeles connect less. I found it bizarre how little Angelenos interact and meet new people. I think the weather makes it easier to work in LA and the climate is its key appeal.”

On a technical level, Waguespeck says, the works are created using a mathematical base: “The process sees me reinterpret a digital image and sequester it into a new environment.”

Deconstructing Hollywood embodies a color pallet that stirs the emotions- with 24 pieces in the series. Before this current series, Waguespack says, he was more entrenched in political work inspired by the chaos and controversy of 9/11.

“It was an odd time and I felt a strange sense of alienation witnessing it all from the comfort of a TV in San Francisco.”

• Exhibit Information:
• John Waguespack: Deconstructing Hollywood
• December 2011 – January 2012
• McLoughlin Gallery – 49 Geary Street, San Francisco (www.mgart.com)

WORDS Craig Stephens
IMAGES McLoughlin Gallery