Brooklyn Whelan

Weekly Spotlight: Brooklyn Whelan

30 July — 6 August 2024

Born 1976
Lives and works in Sydney

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Represented by nanda\hobbs

Brooklyn Whelan rejects the whimsical, traditional boundaries of landscape painting. With a celestial eye, he transforms familiar meteorological phenomena into otherworldly visions. Unique cloudscapes and smokeshapes are a synthesis of his subconscious musings, and a conscious manipulation of form and colour.

 

Testament to the enduring impact the 1980s graffiti movement had on Whelan, his freehand application and abstractionist tendencies are a nod to his early exposure to Sydney’s street art movement. His predominant use of acrylic on canvas maintains this tactile connection to his earlier aerosol work.

 

Often characterised by pastel hues and bold pops of colour, it’s easy to see the influence of a life-long fascination with canonical science fiction works. In one corner, a glimpse of the vivid skies of Flash Gordon, the gaseous cloud-planets of Star Wars in another. The neon beams that split his clouds pay homage to the smoke-filled, dystopian, neon-drenched aesthetic of Blade Runner. Whelan’s visual language is an iconic blend of the organic shapes and hyper-saturated noir palette of the 80s; a mash-up of nostalgic and futuristic.

 

Drawing from his internal visions rather than direct observation, Whelan combines the earthly and the ethereal. The raw power of nature offers a momentary escape from the mundane, and a glimpse into the space beyond. Brooklyn Whelan’s imagination exists here, in the place between the shadow and the light.

 

Anthea Mentzalis

July, 2024

\ Exhibition featured works

Brooklyn Whelan

CLOUD WITH NEON STRIKE

2024 \ Oil and mixed media on canvas \ 122 x 214cm (diptych)

Brooklyn Whelan

HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM

2024 \ Oil and mixed media on canvas \ 122 x 107cm

SOLD

Brooklyn Whelan

STUDY 011

2023 \ Acrylic on canvas \ 30.5cm x 30.5cm

SOLD

Brooklyn Whelan

STUDY 012

2023 \ Acrylic on canvas \ 30.5cm x 30.5cm

Brooklyn Whelan

THE CANDLE THAT LIGHTS YOUR WAY HOME

2023 \ Oil and acrylic on canvas \ 112x112cm

Brooklyn Whelan

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE

2024 \ Acrylic and oil on canvas \ 122 x 107cm

Brooklyn Whelan

WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SPACE ABOVE

2023 \ Oil and acrylic on canvas \ 112 x 112cm

Brooklyn Whelan

\ Installation View 1

Brooklyn Whelan

\ Installation View 2

Brooklyn Whelan

\ Installation View 3

\ Other exhibitions

Jun Chen

RED LAND

24 September — 19 October 2024

OTHER WORLDS

Group Exhibition

3 September — 21 September 2024

Suzanne Archer

Winds of change and sands of time

12 August — 31 August 2024

Contact Us

to find out more about Weekly Spotlight: Brooklyn Whelan.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)