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Large Mandala

Date1990 and 1995

MediumOil and mixed media on board

Dimensions104 × 84 in. (264.2 × 213.4 cm)
frame: 106 × 85 3/4 in. (269.2 × 217.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Robert and Cheryl Fishko, 2016

Object number2016-37

On View

Not on view

Label TextGregory Gillespie is considered to be one of the most important American representational painters from the second half of the 20th century. He received his degree from the San Francisco Art Institute, and his first solo exhibit was held at the Forum Gallery in New York in 1966. Gillespie studied in Italy on grants throughout the 1960s and it was there that he developed an appreciation of the Italian Renaissance masters.

This painting is representative of Gillespie’s continued interest in the mandala, a Hindu or Buddhist graphic symbol of the universe. The artist has assembled a variety of materials and images into the work—photocopied transfers, strips of wood, a Buddhist monk, and everyday objects. The artist explained that the construction of this painting developed through free association and while he utilizes representational painting, he does not adhere to a specific narrative. In that way, the painting becomes about seeing and processing recognizable imagery.