Primary Medium

Painting

Address

276 Greenpoint Ave
#8301 3rd Floor Studio Q2
Brooklyn, 11222

Artist Statement

Using oil paint, resin and wax, my paintings appear as abstract frescos revealing a smooth vibrant window-like layer below. They portray the physical interface between myth and reality, sentimentality and pragmatism, culture and the individual. The largest aesthetic influences in my life have come from stained glass windows and modernist painting. I grew up Catholic and spent every Sunday morning in church. I remember an overwhelming sense of boredom that was only sometimes relieved by looking at the pictures illustrated on the stained-glass windows and fresco walls. Similarly, I remember drudging through museums filled with portraits and pottery shards just to be thrilled by the abstract expressionists in the modernist wing. In both instances, I was awe-struck by the depiction of color, gesture, materials and existential/spiritual drama. As I have grown older, I find myself returning to these fascinations with a sense of ambivalence. I might want faith in a great destiny, and I may want to feel pride in the histories and traditions of my ancestors or the communities that raised me. And yet, I am suspicious of myths and desperate to define my own identity and accommodate the contemporary.

Links

Website: https://www.brendanjohncarroll.com/
Instagram: @brendan_john_carroll