John Phillip Abbott was born in Wisconsin (USA) in 1975. He currently lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA).

Since his debut, John Phillip Abbott explores the complex relationship between text and image, blurring the boundaries between both. Words, names and short sentences organize his compositions with a grid-like structure and function as images rather than mere concepts. Complex and visually intense, his linguistic structures challenge legibility and invite the viewer to enter an interstitial zone, between “reading” and “seeing”.

Made primarily with spray paint, his paintings spell out ideas through a calligraphic vocabulary, composed of geometric elements, such as stripes, rectangles, diamonds or pyramids. Although Abbott’s word-paintings are initially inspired by personal experiences and past memories, they are not solely diaristic, but take on a more general meaning. They are open for interpretation and welcome the viewer to invent his or her own brand new narratives.

The artist also pursues an endless experimentation with numerous techniques. He combines the use of acrylic brush and spray paint, stencils and masking tapes, prepared and raw canvases. John Phillip Abbott constantly reinvents traditional ways of paintings and introduces unexpected shifts between graphic intention and process related accidents.

John Phillip Abbott ‘s work has been shown internationally and most recently at Gleichapel (Paris, France); COUNTY Gallery (Palm Beach, USA), Galerie Bertrand (Geneva, Switzerland), Pierogi (New York, USA) and Devening Projects (Chicago, USA). His works have been included in institutional shows such as This One’s Optimistic: Pincushion at the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, CT, as well as PRTY PPL at Circuit 12 in Dallas, TX.