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Shaun McDowell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shaun McDowell
Born9 April 1981
Sussex, England, United Kingdom
EducationReigate School of Art (2000-2002)
Alma materChelsea College of Art and Design (2002-2005)

Shaun McDowell (born 1981, Sussex) is a British painter and curator working in the Sabine Hills region of Lazio, Italy.

Known for making colourful abstract paintings, he has occasionally displayed sculpture.[1] His work has been compared to Willem de Kooning, Frank Auerbach and Cy Twombly in terms of its gesture, colouration and visceral quality.[2][3][4]

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Career

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A founding member of Lyndhurst Way, McDowell first gained recognition as proponent of the emerging art scene in Peckham[6][7][8][9][10] and has been represented by Hannah Barry London since 2008.

In 2007 and 2008 McDowell displayed large sculpture for the first two years of what has become a major annual sculpture show in London - 'Bold Tendencies'.[11]

In 2009 McDowell showed painting in the "Peckham Pavilion" during Venice Biennale.[12]

In 2017 McDowell showed a large series of works for a solo exhibition 'Islands of Ours' at Titanic Belfast Museum, Northern Ireland.[13]

As a curator McDowell has invited young artists to show alongside older established ones including - Howard Hodgkin, Robert Crumb, Varda Caivano, Rose Wylie, (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov, Pavel Pepperstein, Lara Viana and Raoul De Keyser.[14][15]

Critical reception

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A Financial Times article in 2012 noted the influence of Jean-Honoré Fragonard and called McDowell “the most exciting abstract painter of his generation”[16] while a 2013 Prospect Magazine article titled 'British Painting is back' speaks about the physical, visceral quality of his work and a resurgence in British painting.[4] Barnaby Wright of the Courtauld Institute has spoken of him in connection with Frank Auerbach as a keeper of the Auerbach flame - "His work, like Auerbach’s, occupies a space between figurative and pure abstraction”.[4]

Peckham art scene

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In a 2007 Timeout article titled 'Peckham Art Squats' McDowell cites Lyndhurst Way and Peckham as the environment that supported a new wave of creative vision in South London. In the article writer Ossian Ward speaks about the potential for a shift in the London art landscape that was to indeed later unfold -

"With the possibility of co-opting another building around the corner in Vestry Road, it seems that history might be repeating itself in Peckham and that the London art world is shifting southwards, just as it migrated east in the 1980s and ’90s”.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Gormley, Guy. "The Tangled Grove". Tipitin.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  2. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie (15 May 2008). "Critics Choice". Financial Times. No. Weekend issue. Financial Times Publishing. Nikkei Inc.
  3. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie. "A force that has driven art for 100 years". www.ft.com. Financial Times Publishing. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Killen, David. "British Painting is Back". Prospect Magazine. Prospect Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  5. ^ Ardalan de Weck, Ziba. Visible invisible : against the security of the real : Cecily Brown, Hans Josephsohn, Shaun McDowell, Katy Moran, Maaike Schoorel (PDF). Parasol unit Foundation for contemporary art. p. 56. ISBN 9780956024718. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b Ward, Ossian. "Peckham Art Squats". www.timeout.com. Time Out Group. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  7. ^ Nesbitt, Huw (30 August 2013). "The rise and fall and rise of the art squat". www.dazeddigital.com. Dazed Media. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  8. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie. "Paint it like Peckham". www.ft.com. Financial Times Publishing. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  9. ^ Judova, Jenny. "Interview with Hannah Barry Gallery's Hannah Barry". www.artmap.london. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  10. ^ Jones, Alice (20 October 2008). "Look on the bright side: Optimistic Art". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  11. ^ Tendencies, Bold. "Bold Tendencies". boldtendencies.com. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  12. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie. "Small change, maximum impact". ft.com. Financial Times Publishing. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  13. ^ Barry, Hannah. "Shaun McDowell bio" (PDF). www.hannahbarry.com. Hannah Barry Gallery. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. ^ Taylor, Molly (29 July 2014). "Curator's Eye View: Shaun McDowell". www.frameweb.com. FRAME. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  15. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie (31 January 2014). "Hodgkin wins first Swarovski Whitechapel award". Financial Times. Financial Times Publishing. Nikkei Inc. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  16. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie (15 September 2012). "Critics Choice". Financial Times. No. Weekend Issue. Financial Times Publishing. FT Group.
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