Brian Whelan
Brian Whelan | |
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 Brian Whelan, 2009 | |
| Born | 3 May 1957 Ealing, London |
| Website | brianwhelanart |
Brian Whelan (born 3 May 1957) is an Irish painter,[1][2] author[3] and playwright.[4][5]
Early life
[edit]Whelan was born in Ealing, West London, UK, of Irish Roman Catholic parents. His childhood was spent both in London and Ireland (Kilkenny, Waterford and Dublin). After his training at Kingston Polytechnic College and the Royal Academy of Arts, he lived and worked for 30 years in various parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, England. These early years were spent painting, organizing various multi-disciplined art events and making films.[6][7][8][9][10]
Career
[edit]Whelan first came to the attention of the public and media in a fringe event connected to the Aldeburgh Festival in 2000 with an exhibition entitled "The Church Pub" with co artist Andrew Smith.[11] Whelan's half of the exhibition went on to the Hammersmith Irish Art Centre in London (now called the Irish Cultural Centre).[12] Over the next two years (2001-2), the exhibition was held at several other London venues including: St Benedict's Abbey in Ealing, Spotlight and Broadway Galleries in Lewisham, and Irish Club in Eaton Square.[13][14][15][16] John Hegarty of the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel commissioned Whelan to paint a portrait of their spiritual founder, Louis de Montfort. The painting is permanently hung at the Montfort Missionaries [17] in Czestochowa, Poland.[18]
Later years in England were devoted to exhibiting his works throughout England (St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral, St Benedict's Abbey) and internationally (Spain, China, United States) and writing books.[19]
From 2013 to 2019, he and his American wife Wendy Roseberry had lived in the historic village of Waterford, Virginia, US, where they had created a studio out of an old outbuilding.[20]
Since 2020, they have lived in Connecticut, US. The studio is in a former horse stable.[21]
Works and exhibitions
[edit]Whelan’s John Roberts commission for the Episcopal Church of Wyoming is first unveiled at the John Roberts Festival on June 3, 2023.[22] From there the 13 paintings embark on an international tour.
The year 2021 included exhibitions at the Silvermine Art Center and Westport River Gallery in Connecticut and The Paula Friedman Art Gallery and Verostko Center [23] in Pennsylvania. Pauly Friedman Art Gallery - Misericordia University.[24] Whelan joined fellow London Royal Academy of Art alumni in the 'Legacy' exhibition held at the Minories Galleries in Colchester, England, UK in 2019.[25][26]
In 2018, the Green Curtain Theatre Company staged in London, Whelan's play "A Tragic Carmody" based on his experience with the late artist Daniel Carmody.[5] Also in 2018, art collector John Kohan profiled Whelan and Whelan's works that Kohan has purchased for his religious art collection.[27]
Washington National Cathedral invited Whelan to again exhibit in 2016.[28] Nine paintings on the subject of Holy City, a celebration of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.[29] The installation placed in the north transept was to mark the 15th year since the 9/11 attacks.[30][31]
Norwich Cathedral in Norfolk England commissioned Whelan to paint 14 panels of the spiritual life and death of International Red Cross nurse Edith Cavell in 2014. The panels on which the scenes of The Passion of Edith Cavell were painted, were first exhibited at Washington National Cathedral in the US to mark 100 years since the beginning of WW1.
The paintings later in the following year traveled to Brussels Roman Catholic Cathedral and Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (close to Schaerbeek, where Edith Cavell was executed) before continuing its journey to Norfolk for permanent installation of the 14 panels at Norwich Cathedral to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Cavell's execution, in October 2015.[32][33]
Whelan's painting The Martyrdom of St. Edmund[34] permanently hangs in the Lady Chapel of St. Edmundsbury Cathedral[35] in Bury St. Edmund, England and "Holy City with Herald" at the Hostal dos Reis Catolicos in Santiago de Compostella.[36]
His images are used on the cover and contents of The Popes 2009 CD Outlaw Heaven[37] and 2012 CD New Church[38] as well as five releases from London Irish punk folker Anto Morra since 2013 until present day.[39]
In summer 2009, Whelan co-curated The Quiet Men – London Irish Painters, the first major international tour (UK, Spain and US) of contemporary London Irish art.[40] At the PM Gallery in Ealing, London Whelan first showed his large (2.7 m × 3.6 m) polyptych Transmetropolitan painting – an immigrants' joyride across the city of London and reference to the song of the same name by Shane MacGowen.In addition to Whelan's work, The Quiet Men tour included paintings by four other London Irish painters: Bernard Canavan, John Duffin, Dermot Holland and the late Daniel Carmody.[41] The book by the same name published by The Irish World Newspaper was launched in 2010 by the Irish Embassy in London.[42]
References
[edit]- ^ "About Brian Whelan". Brian Whelan. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ Teather, Will (April–May 2010). "In The Frame: London". Green Pebble Magazine. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^ "Brian Whelan: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". Amazon.
- ^ Emms, Steven (23 February 2018). "Must Do: Watch a Tragic Carmody". Kenthishtowner.
- ^ a b "Premiere will be at London festival during February". Ealing Times. 4 February 2018.
- ^ "London plays to host a celebration of Irish Art". Irish Post. 21 January 2005.
- ^ Ormerod, Ruby. "Brian Whelan rocks with the Irish…and The Popes". Brian Whelan. Greenpebble Art Magazine.
- ^ Whelan, Brian (2 May 2017). "Mr and Mrs Andrews: A film by Brian Whelan". YouTube.
- ^ Doney, Mary (17 November 2013). "The Proximity of the Sacred and Profane". ArtWay. ArtWay Visual Meditation.
- ^ New, Contemporaries (1982). Little Man Painting by Whelan. Institute of Contemporary Art, London. ISBN 0950810509.
- ^ "A Holy Alliance". Irish Post. 23 September 2000. p. 13.
- ^ Scanlon, Rosalind (March 2001). Holy Orders at Hammersmith & Fulton Irish Centre. Hammersmith Arts Centre.
- ^ "Arts in Brief". Irish Post. 10 March 2005.
- ^ "Impish Irish painter puts Jesus, pubs and the devil in the frame – The Holy Ground by Brian Whelan". 8 July 2001. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ An Exhibition of Paintings by Brian Whelan. Lewisham, London: The Broadway Gallery. 2002.
- ^ Inspired paintings covering a range of subjects, whose work has received International recognition and high praise". Lewisham, London: Lewisham Directorate for Education and Culture. 2001.
- ^ Montfort Missionaries
- ^ http://www.the-universe.net>(now the Catholic Universe) Home - The Catholic Universe <https://thecatholicuniverse.com/>
- ^ "Brian Whelan Books". Amazon.
- ^ Waterford Foundation (7 May 2020). "Waterford VA reminds artist Whelan of Irish Homeland". YouTube.
- ^ Warren, Ken. "Whelan Refects [sic] Vestiges of Medieval Art Form". Westport River Gallery.
- ^ "Events, Episcopal Church of Wyoming".
- ^ http://www.verostkocenter.org/>
- ^ https://www.misericordia.edu/campus-community/pauly-friedman-art-gallery>
- ^ The Minories, Galleries (7 December 2019). "A new exhibition by the Royal Academy Schools East Anglia Group, celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Royal Academy Schools with a reflection on the influence of its teaching on former students". ArtRabbit.
- ^ "Forthcoming". Brian Whelan.
- ^ Kohan, John (2018). "Brian Whelan". Sacred Art Pilgrim.
- ^ Barnes, Jim (5 December 2016). "Waterford artist's work is on display at Washington National Cathedral". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "Reception and Reflections: Holy City - Washington National Cathedral". Cathedral.org. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Morton, Margaret (2 December 2016). "Whelan's 'Holy City' Soars at Washington National Cathedral". Loudoun Now.
- ^ "RECEPTION AND REFLECTIONS: HOLY CITY". Cathedral.org. 15 September 2016.
- ^ "The Passion of Edith Cavell - St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, Brussels". Cathedrale de Bruxelles. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Edith Cavell Centenary - Remembrance at Norwich Cathedral". Centenary News. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "The Martyrdom of St Edmund". Brian Whelan. 2008.
- ^ "60 Second Snippet-St. Edmund". St.Edmundbury Cathedral. 17 April 2020.
- ^ Collins, Ian. "A king's saintly image redrawn," Eastern Daily Press, 15 Nov.
- ^ "Outlaw Heaven". The Popes. 2009.
- ^ "New Church". The Popes. 2012.
- ^ "Five Albums". Anto Morra. 2013–2019.
- ^ Donohoe, Victoria 'Immigrants' story at Villanova show' Philadelphia Inquirer 3 September 2009
- ^ Millar, Frank. "The Quiet Men." Irish Times, 17 March 2009
- ^ Roseberry, Wendy ed. London Irish Painting, Irish World Newspaper, London, 15 October 2010
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