“Wait, those are paintings?” It’s a phrase I hear often when discussing the work of painter Ashton Gallagher. The Illinois-based artist can take any subject and make a painting so lifelike, so dynamic, that you’d swear it was a photo. And, at times, people do think they’re photos. But, we assure you they’re not.
On June 11, Gallagher returns to Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, CA with “Mini-Portraits IV,” his fourth (obviously) exhibit of pop culture portraits in his beautifully detailed style. It’s a show he’s been thinking about since completed work on his last show back in 2020.
“At the end of each show, I write down thoughts and ideas for what I should do on the next one—as it pertains to process and what it takes behind the scenes to bring a show together,” Gallagher told io9 over email. “For me, bringing a show together is always fluid. It often starts one way and, likely, ends up completely different than I initially thought. A lot of that has to do with the amount of time dedicated to each piece, pushing it to be the best version I can make it. I’m proud to say this show is close to what I envisioned! Any projects that didn’t make it in from the original plan are ready to go for the next show. Always nice to have a leg up.”
Before we talk about the next show, though, we’ve got a selection of pieces from this show, which has its opening from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. First is an exclusive reveal from one of the most famous sci-fi films of all time. Then, Gallagher exclusively crafted multiple teases for us. Blurry images with a line of dialogue to give a hint of what else will be in the show. But, as you can see from the image above, these are not rocket science. We’re pretty sure there’s gonna be a Han Solo in there too.
Begin the slideshow to see it all, as well as a few other images that have been revealed.
