Brian Donnelly

Brian Donnelly’s creatures exist in a perpetual state of encroachment and human-animal cross-breeding. And somehow, some of them arouse me.

Brian Donnelly is a Canadian born painter working in Toronto. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design’s painting program in 2003, Brian has actively been questioning the role of the figure in contemporary painting for the last ten years. His efforts focus mainly on the dialogue between the art and its audience, and how to expand it.

As a professional, Brian’s work has been exhibited across Canada and the United States, as well as Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. His work is a part of multiple private collections worldwide, as well as the permanent archives of his alma mater. While often featured in contemporary art publications, 2008 saw his work included in the book ‘Carte Blanche; Vol 2 : Painting’, a compendium of contemporary Canadian painters.

Demonstrating discipline through figurative painting, and exposing a destructive personality through fierce editing and unfinished brushstrokes, displayed on fields of unprimed canvas. Beneath technical detail Brian is creating a narrative that explores duality and the presence of contradiction. The final visual challenges the viewers to question how much of their environment they wish to master and how much they prefer to leave alone.