Sinéad Breslin
May 28 - June 26, 2021
Here, Pittsburgh is pleased to present a solo exhibition by London-based painter, Sinéad Breslin, which will be held at the former Boy’s Club of Pittsburgh (4434 Butler St.) in Lawrenceville. The opening reception will take place on Friday, May 28th, 2021 from 5-8pm.
Sinéad Breslin captures moments in time with complete disregard for perspective, embellishing these moments with whimsical or fictious elements, all while grounding her compositions in patterns or bold color blocks. Some scenes are anchored by figures, seemingly rendered with less interest than their vibrant surroundings yet ultimately emphasize their unity, much like the paintings of David Hockney or Henri Matisse. In Everything is Moving (2021), a circular purple swim cap centers the eye amongst a Hockney-esque pool and energetic brushwork – the figure’s body only comes into view out of necessity, as a literal anchor to both the canvas and the pool.
Working from memory, photographs and life, these paintings are autobiographical in nature. In fact, many of her figures not only find themselves repeated throughout Breslin’s work, but also represent former flat mates or friends made throughout the artists travels to Moscow, Mexico City or Morocco. For example, Breslin met John, from John in Fitzrovia (2021), in 2008, an academic who found himself sitting for the artist in an empty luxury apartment in Fitzrovia during the Covid lockdown; Luda, from Luda at the Stables (2019), is Breslin’s friend from Moscow who is mysteriously depicted at the estate Cuadra San Cristóbal, situated about 40 minutes outside Mexico City.
Through rich, almost abstract scenery, figures, from Luda to the orange on Birthday Girl’s table, become entangled in Breslin’s brushwork where a mysticism and mundanity coalesce. Breslin remarks, “my works allude to magical realism; they are at once representational and obscure. I follow in an Irish tradition of imbuing works with a sense of the unreal where magic, fable, and allegory is explored. There is a strong sense of expressionism in terms of line, colour and psychological discernment, and a salute to Primitivism in terms of the works being instinctive and sometimes unreasonable.”
Sinéad Breslin (b. 1986, Ireland) received both her BA and Master of Fine Arts from the University of West England. Breslin has had recent solo exhibitions at Artiq, Moscow; Marc Straus Gallery, New York; Mauger Gallery, New York and Secret Art Gallery, Moscow. Recent group exhibitions include Transatlantico at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City; President’s Day Soirée, Lucas Lucas, New York; Perimetri Domestici, Palazzo Monti, Brescia; and Friends of Friends, The Third Policeman, London. Breslin lives and works in London.
