Steve Galan

Statement/Bio

After moving to what was probably the only barn in San Francisco’s Richmond District in the mid-80’s, my former next-door-neighbor, Robert Minuzzo suggested  that, because I was living in an artist studio, I should be an artist like him. He offered to teach me and I went along, thinking that at the very least I would make something to hang on the wall of my new place. I started working with Robert at his studio in Sausalito and by the end of the first week I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
My new next-door-neighbor, Howard Hack ,  saw my first paintings drying in the garden and told me he was impressed by what I was doing. The encouragement and subsequent education I got from these two great San Francisco artists enabled me to pursue my career which by almost any imaginable financial yardstick can’t be considered to be anything but an abject failure. Throughout the 80’s & 90’s  I showed  my work in hotels, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, libraries, and the occasional group show in bonafide galleries. My sales figures would have to be cooked at extreme temperatures to reflect anything close to breaking even. But I took literally the lesson from Howard that being able to make a painting was a success unto itself. The rest is just accolades and money.
Beginning in 2000 with the help of Joe Padilla, I started repairing and restoring murals and sculpture for the San Francisco Park Department. This effort evolved into my being able to paint my own murals for the next fifteen years. Health issues forced an end to murals and after regaining the ability to paint I returned to working on wood and canvas.
The geometric paintings I’m making now owe  a lot to my limited understanding of the work of Frank Stella, Sol LeWitt, and especially Bridgett Riley.