Portland Artist Gregory Grenon Dies at 73

Grenon was an artist at the Russo Lee Gallery.

Gregory Grenon Photo courtesy of Russo Lee Gallery.

Portland artist Gregory Grenon has died at 73.

The news was announced by the Russo Lee Gallery, where Grenon was a gallery artist. The gallery said that he died on Feb. 6, but did not reveal the cause of death.

“Gregory’s dedication to his artistic practice and his passion for painting will be much missed,” the Russo Lee Gallery said in an obituary posted on its website. “His legacy will live on through his paintings.”

Born in 1948, Grenon came to Portland in the late ’70s and eventually married fellow artist Mary Josephson. Starting in 1995, he was represented by the Russo Lee Gallery and its predecessor, the Laura Russo Gallery.

Grenon was renowned for his unique artistic style, painting on the reverse of glass, and used unlikely surfaces like car windshields, mirror frames and old doors.

On his website, Grenon wrote about his artistic process.

“Every painting is different, has it’s own narrative, it’s own life,” he explained. “My process can be compared to lithography where the image...[can be flipped] over so what the viewer sees is the exact reverse of what I painted. It is a wonderful surprise.”

Grenon was also acclaimed for his paintings of women.

“Through these paintings, he sought to portray a wide range of the experiences and emotional strengths of his subjects, particularly of the women he featured,” the Russo Lee Gallery said. “He spoke throughout his life of his love, respect and admiration for women.”

WW‘s Richard Speer took note of Grenon’s depiction of women in his work when he reviewed Grenon’s show Truth Is a Lie and Anger Follows in 2014. He wrote that “Grenon’s paintings succeed as meta-commentaries on the fuzzy lines that separate looking from leering.”

While Grenon was one of the most acclaimed artists in the Pacific Northwest, he also had a national presence. He was represented by galleries across the country (including Taver Gallery in Seattle) and his art was featured everywhere from the Boise Art Museum to the New York Public Library.











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