April 3, 2026
A new essay by Professor Sharad Chari in Gagosian Quarterly explores the immersive, oceanic world of Ellen Gallagher, whose work draws on layered histories, Black intellectual traditions, and marine imaginaries. Through a reflective studio visit, Chari's piece traces how Gallagher’s paintings and mixed-media works function like submerged archives—dense with references, repetition, and evolving forms. Engaging influences from literature, abstraction, and myth, Gallagher's practice invites viewers to “descend” beneath the surface, revealing a dynamic, ever-shifting visual language shaped by memory, material, and the depths of the sea.