Neal McCormick utilizes traditional printmaking and drawing to explore images and stories from his unconscious mind. The works appear at first like events half remembered that don't seem real; or fragments of complex dreams that come back to you days later, devoid of context. compositions are arranged through a process of drawing and redrawing- adding and subtracting elements until the piece feels pure. Materials push the ideas to their conclusion: the shape and grain of a piece of wood, the marks made by a particular tool, and at times where the materials come from- all these things conspire to change the direction of the work, and Neal honors their influence. These images, upon further analysis of the symbols within them, tell stories that encapsulate, elucidate, and poke fun at Neal’s anxieties and inner turmoil- and at times directly or indirectly reference his memories. By drawing these stories, Neal hopes to transmute his personal struggles into a universal context, while also allowing others to find their own story in the work.
Neal was born and raised in Boulder County, Colorado, to a family of research scientists. He first became interested in art through his love of skateboarding as a teenager, and it was these things that ultimately drew him to attend PNCA in Portland, Oregon, in 2015. Printmaking was already an interest of his, but the printmaking studio at PNCA had him spellbound. Though he did not inherit all of the scientific talents of his parents, the process and analysis required to produce prints spoke to him. Neal chose to dedicate himself to his artistic practice at age 16, when he was forcibly enrolled in a Troubled Teen Wilderness Therapy program. Art first provided an escape from the everyday trauma of the program, then a path deeper into himself and ultimately towards emotional processing, hope, and healing. The aesthetics of traditional print media like woodcuts, stone lithography, and copper plate etching became the perfect vehicle for exploring the dark surreal imagery of his internal world. After graduating at the end of 2019, Neal remained in Portland and continued to pursue printmaking. In 2023 he became a member of Flight 64 Studio, where he still works today.
Photos Courtesy of Connor Tallon