Armpit by Eric Galbreath BGAS25

Eric Galbreath

Born in 1965 and raised in northern New Jersey, I earned my BA in Visual Art and Design from Point Park College and built a career in graphic design and visual communications. But it was the move to the American Southwest that sparked a deeper artistic impulse. The desert sky, saturated palette, and space to explore led me to painting—first as a tactile escape from the digital world, then as a full blown creative calling. For years, my work centered on layered, colorful, textured abstracts—raw, emotional compositions built slowly over time. Painting this way let me wrestle with life’s messiness: chaos transforming into unexpected beauty. More recently, I’ve turned to representational art through the lens of queer identity and erotic intimacy. These new works retain my love for color and abstraction while embracing the human figure, sexuality, and the emotional complexity of queer experience. After decades away from formal drawing and painting, I found myself “back in art school”—in my own head—retraining my hand, rediscovering light and shadow, and learning new tools. The result is a fusion of past and present: abstract energy meeting figurative form. I’m excited to keep exploring, pushing boundaries, and creating work that speaks to both the inner self and the shared queer journey.