Rise and Shine:

Rise and Shine: New Paintings by Patrick Brennan
January 11 – February 23, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, January 11, 2013, 6-8 pm

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.

Rise and Shine: New Paintings by Patrick Brennan will be on view at Heiner Contemporary January 11 – February 23, 2013. The gallery will host an opening reception on Friday, January 11, from 6-8pm. Heiner Contemporary is located at 1675 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. For more information about the gallery and upcoming exhibitions email info@heinercontemporary.com.