The Intimacy in Absence
Keiran Brennan Hinton, 1969 Gallery
Absence is as powerful as presence in a work of art. Edward Hopper’s empty streets could be an example, as well as the canvases of Russian painters like Malevich or Rodchenko. Today, another instance can be found in the exhibition of new work, entitled Close at Hand, by the young artist Keiran Brennan Hinton. In this show at 1969 Gallery in New York, paintings are lush, richly colored and filled with shadows and suggestions of occupation. These paintings illustrate that in absence, there is the evidence of intimacy, history, and memory.
The starting point for this exhibition began with a residency at the James Castle House. If you’re unfamiliar, James Castle was an outsider artist who became famous for his artwork that used found paper, soot, and other unconventional materials. While living in Castle’s former homestead, Brennan Hinton developed a real interest to Castle’s work and life. Through his attachment to Castle and his spirit, the result of the artist’s residency was the contents of this exhibition.
The paintings themselves are mostly interiors. Rooms appear abandoned in these paintings: dilapidated wallpaper, cabinets ajar, floors littered with detritus. It is obvious there were lives that were lived in these rooms, but those individuals are gone. Although the artist is obviously wields strong and beautiful colors in these works, there is a sort of ghostliness and melancholy that penetrate all of these paintings. This is because the real subjects of these works seem to be the people who once lived in these rooms, like Castle and his family. Shadowy silhouettes in other paintings also suggest something even more ghostly or hallucinatory. Considering how haunting and evocative these works are, it speaks to Brennan Hinton’s talent that he can create a sort of tender portrait of an individual who doesn’t even appear on his canvas.
