Artist Allan Gorman on finding inspiration in the industrial

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A local artist draws inspiration from the city he grew up in and his love of urban structures.

To do that, Allan Gorman goes on what he calls a "photo safari."

"I'll look for interesting details, like the underbelly of the beast here," he said as he stood looking at the underside of the Pulaski Skyway. "I'm looking for interesting studies of shape and shadow, like if you look at that infrastructure underneath."

Gorman is intrigued by tough, uncompromising realism. He's a celebrated American artist whose work fuses photorealism and the abstract. He was drawn to industrial structures he saw as a child in New York City.

"Brooklyn, where I grew up, was full of that kind of infrastructure," he said. 

Gorman was in third grade when his identity began to take shape.

"A teacher had given us an assignment to draw something, and I drew a little boy drawing, you know, a horse. All the teachers oohed and ahhed and the kids loved it, and I'm an artist, OK. So, I'm an artist," Gorman said.

His studio in Jersey City provides what he describes as "eye candy."

"I've trained my eye to kind of look for things that I find interesting and then I set out and share it," Gorman said. 

He didn't always share his art. He took his first painting class in his 40s, then took at 25 year hiatus. He owned an advertising agency, had a family.

"My kid grew up and was in college and that gave me the impetus to take some classes. I kept looking for new ideas and new subjects and came upon a photograph of a giant machine. Something cathartic happened during the painting of a painting I call 'Steampunk,' it flipped a switch in me," Gorman said. "Not thinking about what somebody else might like, but first and foremost, I had to be excited about it. And now I paint only what I want. I find it's much more rewarding. It's not so much about making a product but the process itself will teach you about yourself, and it's a deep dive into your soul."

Like every artist, Gorman still craves validation. He's always on the lookout for his next muse.

"Crossbeams, and the light and shadow coming through," he said. 

Perhaps it's fitting his solo exhibition is called "Searching for Drama."

You can view Allan Gorman's art at The Brassworks Gallery in Montclair, New Jersey through December 15th.