Isaiah Galvin-Sullivan is a painter who draws deeply from his personal history and offers his views of contemporary society.
Through his use of symbolic imagery, playful line, metaphors, and abstraction; combined with acrylic paints for a spontaneous approach, Isaiah lets you look beyond the smoke-and-mirrors of his palatable colours. He encourages engagement with the complexities of his story and perspectives, found hidden in plain sight.
Isaiah’s work commonly reflects on insecurity (personal and societal), themes of mortality, the common human experience including pain, growth, adversity and an acceptance.
By puzzling together elements of his narrative and broader societal commentary, paired with bold colors and figurative symbolism, Isaiah Galvin-Sullivan hopes to create work that resonates.
Artist Statement
The works titled “ from the feet up” and “how a flower grows despite” are about
the spirit of fear, the spirit of death and the insecurity of life. We all have an innate goodness. Both pieces portray a divine encounter. Behind being chased by something we fear is a good thing, it forces us to move into new spaces but it is also human nature to hide and play naive.
I wanted to portray a disruption, a true to life moment and(the) freedom(life and /or death) within bounds(boundaries).
“Oh You Grown Now Huh” reflects on my adolescence—an era marked by insecurity, loneliness, and the struggle to reconcile inner and external turmoil. As a kid who often tried to act tough but never felt truly anchored, I felt like the freak in my own story. Through figurative language, my work transforms these memories and emotions into a visual language, capturing the chaos, confusion, and growth that defined that time. The abstract elements in my pieces are the background noise of my life—the mess, the contradictions, and the fractured pieces of experience that ultimately shaped me.