John Hull

The Lowdown: The Lost Episodes

Exhibit: March 2 – 31, 2026 

Opening Reception: March 6, 2026, 5 - 8 PM

Corrigan Gallery is pleased to feature new work by John Hull for the month of March 2026 with an opening reception on March 6, 5-8 PM, at Corrigan Gallery, 38 Queen Street in conjunction with the Charleston Gallery Association Artwalk. The exhibition is titled “The Lowdown:  The Lost Episodes.”

In November 2024, John Hull ventured into a Catholic cemetery with photographer friend Steve Bliss to gain inspiration for new work—stories started to develop and the characters gathered for the story that he wanted to tell.  The inspiration resulted in this show. Often characters find their way into paintings - either people he knows or from television, mainly other artists.  One show that struck him was The Lowdown, a crime dramedy television series on FX.

Hull’s work invites viewers to take a closer look at the cast of characters he puts into his paintings.  If you look carefully, you will find Ethan Hawk, star of The Lowdown, sharing a moment with Hull’s dog Forrest.  Forrest, like many of his dogs, have made their way into several of Hull’s works over the years.  Other cameos include friends and other artists that Hull admires – like Tony Anthony, Robert Rodriguez, Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. 

As Hull puts it, “I’m telling a story about artists – This is the artist, and the explorations of human beings in their role in the universe.”  This main theme he explores whether it is in a graveyard, junkyard in Wyoming, a wrestling training center in Colorado, or baseball field becomes evident. 

Stories of life passages – “a series of psychological stories filled with boredom and wonder” are told by Hull. He wants to show human relationships and “the individual’s struggle to find equilibrium amidst passion and doubt. No matter how many different series or narrative ideas I explore as a painter, I think I end up telling the same story."

John Hull received a BA from Yale University and MFA from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His work is included in collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of Western Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Israel Museum, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Greenville County Art Museum, the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum and Yale University Art Gallery.

He has exhibited since 1981 with a long list of solo shows including 1985 at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York and More Gallery, Philadelphia as well as the J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, the Wichita Art Museum in 2006 and the Alpha Gallery, Boston. Hull’s work has been included in numerous group exhibitions at number of museums and galleries including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Academy of Design, Borgenicht Gallery, P.S. 1, One Penn Center, Tatistcheff Gallery and A.R.T. Resources all in New York; the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, The Center for the Visual Arts, Plus Gallery and Ron Judish Fine Arts in Colorado; the Neuburger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York; The National Gallery of New Zealand; the Tampa Art Museum, Florida; The Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana; the New House Center for Contemporary Art, Snug Harbor, New York; Rutgers University Art Museum, Newark, New Jersey; the Butler Museum of Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles; Ulrich Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Schmucker Art Gallery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; and the Greenville County Art Museum and the Halsey Institute in South Carolina.

Hull has received four National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artists’ Fellowships, one from the Maryland Arts Council, the Thomas Benedict Clarke Prize for Painting in 2004 from the National Academy of Design and an Achievement Award in 1995 from American Artist Magazine. He has taught at Augustana College in Illinois, Yale University and the University of Colorado. He is retired Professor of Painting and Department Chair of Studio Art from the College of Charleston.

Corrigan Gallery represents local artists with special visiting and second market artists. From the edge of traditional to as “contemporary” as is feasible, the gallery presents works with thought and depth particularly in a nontraditional manner.  Works from the estates of both Elizabeth O’Neill Verner and Alfred Hutty and other notable artists are displayed. Twenty plus years in the Charleston arts, the gallery is happily ensconced in an 1800s building in downtown Charleston.

The gallery is open 10-5 six days a week, otherwise by appointment and visit us online at www.corrigangallery.com twenty-four hours a day.