Works by Jeffrey Marshall & Alex Stroup
Gloucester's Cosmos Gallery
By: Cosmos - May 08, 2026
Works by Jeffrey Marshall & Alex Stroup
COSMOS Gallery
20 Pleasant Street, Gloucester
June 26 – July 26, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, June 26 | 5-7 pm
Contact: Chris Munkholm, office@capeanncosmos.com
Gloucester, MA — May 2026 — COSMOS Gallery presents Drawn to Paint, an exhibition which explores the role of drawing, both informal and preparatory, in the creative process of painters Jeffrey Marshall and Alex Stroup. Through the installation of paintings paired with their drawn origins, this exhibition creates a dialogue between two approaches to imagery that exist independently and interdependently.
Jeffrey Marshall works solely from observation, placing himself in public environments where conversations with inhabitants reveal the invisible layers of a place. Over the last decade, Marshall has focused his attention on the commercial fishing areas of Gloucester that are its foundation, and most at risk. “I usually use drawing as a way to see if a subject will sustain an investigation into painting. For me, painting is a more involved process, so the drawings give me the confidence to move forward with further interaction with a subject.” Marshall’s current work pairs carefully observed industrial tarps with paintings that explore the hidden imagery inside those forms.
Alex Stroup prefers to show rather than tell. Stroup’s process involves a simple use of TIME: listening and waiting for imagery to bubble up out of experience. Often there are specific doodles or sketches that continue to take up space in the mind, which ask to be exterior. From these inklings, blossom full paintings.
An opening reception will be held Friday, June 26, from 5–7 pm. The public is invited.
Jeffrey Marshall Bio
Jeffrey Marshall is a Gloucester, Massachusetts based artist who documents the endangered fishing industry of the city by painting and drawing along the working waterfront. He has a BFA from Cornell University and an MFA in painting and printmaking from the Massachusetts College of Art. He is a lifelong educator who is currently full-time art faculty at North Shore Community College. Previously he was Associate Professor of Art Foundation at Mount Ida College. His New Orleans Drawing Project, a ten-year initiative to document the post-Katrina recovery of New Orleans, was featured in The New York Times, Art New England, and Artscope Magazine. This work was exhibited at Endicott College, the College of the Holy Cross, and the Aspen Museum of Art among other venues. Gone…Fishing, a series of drawings, was exhibited at the Cape Ann Museum and the Jane Deering Gallery. This exhibition was featured in Art New England, and was chosen as a critic’s pick by The Boston Globe
Contact: jeffreymarshallart@gmail.com, jmarshal@northshore.edu, 978-201-8113
Alex Stroup Bio
Alex Stroup is from the bucolic mountains of Pennsylvania but currently lives and paints in Gloucester. Stroup has a BA in painting from Gordon College and spent a semester in Italy with Gordon’s Orvieto Program. From Spring 2023, Stroup spent a year “teaching” English in Japan and effectively reaffirmed her decision to be a painter. Stroup’s work has been exhibited in Rocky Neck Cultural Center’s: Intelligence of Touch, 2025, A World Awry, 2022, 40 Under 40, 2021, as well as the North Shore Arts Association’s Associates Show, 2024. Contact: astroup03@gmail.com
Drawn to Paint
Works by Jeffrey Marshall and Alex Stroup
June 26, 2026 – July 26, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, June 26 | 5–7 pm
Gallery hours during exhibition:
Thursday – Sunday, 12-5 pm
COSMOS Gallery
20 Pleasant Street, Gloucester Massachusetts 01930
www.cosmos-gallery.com