Dan Gargan usually paints to find an escape from his day job, but the Chicago Fire defender mixed his two passions in a piece he painted for Wednesday’s “Art of Futbol” Gallery showing in Chicago, which takes place on Wednesday and benefits the Chicago Fire Foundation.
Gargan’s piece is called “The Beautiful Game,” and is an abstract vision of what Gargan believes soccer embodies.
“It’s pretty simple,” Gargan told MLSsoccer.com. “It’s got a bunch of flowers in it. When I think of the game, there’s just a bunch of different ways you can express yourself through the game.
"I feel like no one person’s expression or interpretation of the game is the same, and that’s reminiscent of how flowers are. They’re all unique, and they’re all beautiful in their own way.”
Gargan has loved painting since he was a kid, and he minored in studio art at Georgetown University.
Most of his painting nowadays comes in the offseason. His paintings usually end up somewhere in his apartment or in a family member’s home, but a few players around MLS have asked him to paint for them.
This offseason, Colorado forward Conor Casey, Gargan’s former teammate, gave him a wall in his home to use as his canvas.
“He’s always been a big fan of my art,” Gargan said. “He gave me a wall and said, ‘Go for it.’”
Gargan is working on a web site to promote his art work, which he said should be up in the next few weeks.
The Fire defender is hoping people will be interested in his work, and is excited about Wednesday’s showing, which takes place from 7 to 9 pm CT at Society Art Gallery in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood.
But he’s perfectly fine if painting remains just a hobby.
“What I’m getting out of it right now is exactly what I’m looking for,” Gargan said. “That’s the ability to step away from soccer and just have fun with it. It gives me a lot of joy and a lot of happiness to me and my friends and my family. If it was to get bigger, or people were interested in it, that’s great. But it’s more of just an outlet for me.”
