This note accompanies “Observation & Invention,” a group exhibition at SFFA Tradewynd Gallery, on view May 28th - July 26, 2025.
I was introduced to Phil Geiger’s paintings through his long-time friend, Scott Noel. I found his work to be bold, strikingly economical, elusive, and deeply felt. It wasn’t until a few years after graduate school that I had the opportunity to meet Phil and his wife, Liz Geiger, who, like Phil, is a painter who has been an inspiration to my practice. They are a rare combination of accomplished, but humble, down-to-earth people who engage with beauty through the common moments of everyday living. Though when expressed through their poetic sensibilities in paint and imagery, those moments are anything but common. Curiosity, joy, wonder, and the willingness to plumb the depths of meaning through paint and imagery are only the beginning of what gives substance to Phil’s technical range in expressing the visual phenomena of what it means to see. I am incredibly grateful for the legacy Phil leaves in his life’s work, but even more so for the ways he has unknowingly gifted me with his kindness, generosity, and friendship.