Erin Cluley Gallery will present "On the Road," an exhibition of new work by Dallas-based artist William Atkinson. The exhibition will debut new large-scale mixed media paintings combining formal and conceptual qualities from Abstract Expressionism, photo collage, and Western literature.

Reappropriating found photography documenting a midcentury family’s road trip from Texas to Colorado, Atkinson honors and disrupts tenets American culture with bold mark-making and expressive gesture. Transitioning from his subterranean career as a street artist in Los Angeles, Atkinson retained many of his artistic processes, on canvas he works with expediency, often completing a piece in as little as one or two sessions, imbuing his work with a visceral physicality and emotive power.

In work like Texas Series #1, swaths of raw canvas background seemingly haphazard brush strokes, a collaged photograph of shadowy trees drives mystery into the work’s illusive narrative. Drawing inspiration from Abstract Expressionist painters like Franz Kline and Beat poetry, the exhibition’s title, "On the Road," referencing Jack Kerouac’s jazzy opus, his techniques privilege painterly force. Atkinson’s artistic practice pushes the limits of his body and tools towards their breaking points.

"On the Road" will be the artist’s second solo presentation with Erin Cluley Gallery. It will be exhibited concurrently with Interwoven, a group exhibition featuring work by three Dallas- based women sculptors.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on view through March 23.