Artist Andrew “Drew” Galloway (1964 – 2018), died on Tuesday, September 18 in Birmingham, Alabama. Born in Birmingham, he was a longtime resident of Atlanta before eventually returning to his home state. Galloway studied at the Alabama School of Fine Arts before going on to receive his BFA from the Atlanta College of Art, and was represented by Marcia Wood Gallery in Atlanta.
As the creations of a fine draftsman, and a student of all forms of art—informed by an especially thorough knowledge of classical, representational, and expressionist painting, as well as a love of Russian Constructivism—Galloway’s works reflected his keen observations of nature and his attention to detail. Over the course of his career, he developed a unique, personal approach to painting in which he constructed large-scale, multi-panel works on burned and distressed sheets of metal. Speaking about his work, Galloway once said, “Often, an image that I’d previously seen and thought too subtle or quiet is illuminated by a discovery within the natural qualities of the metal… [and new] possibilities are awakened.”
Galloway exhibited regularly over the course of more than three decades, presenting solo exhibitions at Marcia Wood Gallery, the Kentucky Museum, The Rymer Gallery in Nashville, Amanda Schedler Fine Arts in Birmingham, and Marguerite Ostreicher Fine Arts in New Orleans, among other locations. His work is held in major public, private, and corporate collections, including those of Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and the Alabama Contemporary Art Center in Mobile (formerly known as the Centre for the Living Arts).
Brett Levine, the author of this obituary, met Drew Galloway in the first grade. BA would like to extend special thanks to the author for contributing this remembrance of his friend to the publication. Read BA’s story on Galloway’s 2012 exhibition “Light and Shadows” here.
