Photo: Joe Rubino
It is with profound sorrow that Goya Contemporary Gallery announces the passing of distinguished painter and educator Timothy App (b. 1947, Akron, Ohio), who died on November 19, 2025, after a long battle with cancer.
A seminal figure in American abstraction in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond, App dedicated more than five decades to the rigorous exploration of geometric form, spatial tension, and the metaphysics of painting. His elegantly structured works—marked by geometric precision, refined chromatic harmonies, and an architectural sense of balance—embody his lifelong commitment to non-objective painting as both a visual language and a philosophical pursuit. His art is held in major public and private collections, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Phillips Collection, the Albright-Knox Gallery, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Joslyn Art Museum, the Akron Art Museum, among others.
Born in Akron, Ohio, App earned his BFA in Painting from Kent State University in 1970 and his MFA in Painting from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1974. His work received extensive critical recognition in articles, catalogues, and reviews, and in 2013 a major museum retrospective celebrated the depth and consistency of his practice. For more than twenty years, his paintings, works on paper, and prints were represented exclusively by Goya Contemporary Gallery and Goya-Girl Press in Baltimore.
Over a career spanning nearly fifty years, App presented more than twenty-five solo exhibitions and participated in hundreds of group shows. His notable solo exhibitions with Goya Contemporary—including The Homage Paintings (2009), Threshold (2012), The Aesthetics of Precision (2013), The Lost Paintings (2017), States of Mind (2021), and Equipoise (2024)—highlighted the evolution of his thinking about balance, structure, and the philosophical potential of abstraction. He received numerous awards and honors, among them a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, multiple Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards, and MICA’s Trustee Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching. He later served on the Maryland State Arts Council’s board from 2018 to 2022.
A revered educator, App taught painting, drawing, and color theory for forty-seven years. His teaching career began at Pomona College, continued at the University of New Mexico, and culminated at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where he served on the faculty for nearly three decades and held administrative roles, including interim graduate director of the Hoffberger School of Painting. Known for his deep knowledge of art history and theory—especially as they relate to abstraction—he authored numerous essays and reviews, curated exhibitions, and mentored generations of artists who credit him as a defining influence on their creative lives.
Goya Contemporary Gallery was honored to represent Timothy, and to share in the evolution of his remarkable career. We mourn his loss deeply and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family—especially his beloved wife, Theresa Lynch Bedoya; his cherished daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter; his countless friends and colleagues; and his adored cat, Marcel.
Timothy App’s legacy endures in the eloquence of his paintings, in the generations of artists he inspired, and in the ongoing conversation his work invites about beauty, balance, and the infinite possibilities of abstraction.
A memorial exhibition in Timothy’s honor will be held in 2026 with further details forthcoming.