Rise and Shine: New Paintings by Patrick Brennan

Installation view

On Friday, the gallery hosted an opening reception for our new exhibition, Rise and Shine: New Paintings by Patrick Brennan.  Margaret and I first met Patrick about two years ago, shortly before the gallery opened when we were in NYC doing studio visits.  Patrick was one of the artists whose studio we visited and we knew right away that we wanted to work with him. We are happy to finally have the chance!

Here are a few shots from the opening reception:

The artist and his NY dealer

Here's the press release for the show if you are curious to learn more about Patrick and his work:

Heiner Contemporary is delighted to present Rise and Shine: New Paintings by Patrick Brennan, a solo exhibition by the Brooklyn based painter.  Combining craft supplies such as puffy paint, glitter, and Popsicle sticks with cut fabric, paper, and a diverse color palette, Brennan creates exuberant abstractions that play with layering, camouflage, and cropping.  Stenciled patterns, neon splatters, gestural brushstrokes, and geometric add-ons and cut-outs encourage viewers to consider the work’s creation.  Indeed, Brennan has described his paintings as “visual handshakes,” invitations to look closely and examine the many layers, which point to the history of the work as well as the artist’s relationship to it.

The paintings in Rise and Shine demonstrate a subtle shift in the artist’s practice. While Brennan’s larger works are loaded with “stuff,” his new, smaller paintings are more restrained. Brennan is increasingly interested in color: kaleidoscopic, manufactured shades that inject humor into the works. However, his process is still very much about discovery, allowing the paintings to grow organically and embracing accidents that inevitably occur. Brennan’s “kitsch-craft” materials, color choices, and openness to experimentation combine to create paintings that are remarkably original.

Born in Syracuse, New York, Patrick Brennan lives and works in New York City. He Studied at Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute and received a BFA in Painting and Video Art from Alfred University in 1998. Exhibitions include: Romer Young Gallery, Galerie LeLong, MOMA / PS1, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, Halsey McKay Gallery, Monya Rowe Gallery, ZieherSmith Gallery, Edward Thorpe Gallery, Artist Space and Clifton Benevento. Brennan has been awarded residencies at Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta GA, Burren College of Art (Ireland), and The Experimental Television Center Owego, NY.

Working away at the front desk :)