Olsen Gallery is delighted to present the world debut of a new body of abstract paintings by George Byrne, marking a significant expansion of his practice.

 

Long recognised for his iconic photographic constructions informed by the Los Angeles landscape, Byrne’s turn toward painting reflects an expanded engagement with material, intuition, and the physical act of making. His distinct understanding of composition and structure, is reactivated here in a different register, operating more fluidly and intuitively through oil paint, pastel, and charcoal on canvas.

 

Grounded in the language of Abstract Expressionism, these works are built through a process of tension and release, where chaos and control coexist on the same surface. Rather than referencing the visible world, the paintings evolve through colour relationships, internal logic, and emotional pressure, resolving only when the composition locks into place.

This body of work signals a parallel but independent trajectory in Byrne’s practice, opening space for new visual instincts and emotional registers while remaining anchored to his ongoing exploration of balance, structure, and visual harmony.

 

These two works, Coalescence and Armistice, are being shown publicly for the first time as part of Summer Curated, the gallery’s summer group exhibition, opening December 16 and running through January 31, 2026.

 

“Both my photography and my painting are about constructing visual harmony from fragments. I’m composing a kind of emotional architecture, guided by intuition, memory, and balance. I’m interested in creating a visual language that feels sensed rather than read, something that holds meaning without needing to explain itself.” -GB Dec, 2025