One of Europe’s most exciting emerging artists. Brennan’s work is highly sought after & fast becoming a collector’s item.
A self-taught painter of rare sensibility and acuity, Brennan strips his sitters bare to bring to the canvas their inherent mystery and underlying complexity.
Viscerally raw and gloriously uninhibited, his nudes are as much about the crude beauty of the human form as they are about the soul.
Executed in a style which bears comparison with the work of Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011), Brennan’s paintings retain a distinctive quasi-sculptural quality that adds to their expressive appeal. A poignant, expressive intensity that reflects the artist’s emotional intelligence and ability to bond and connect with the model to lay open the truth stirring beneath the flesh.
A trained psychotherapist, Brennan took on painting as a full-time profession in 2019, after spending almost two decades working a corporate job. Five years on, he is now a household name among art aficionados.
Hailed by critics as one of the most significant emerging artists currently on the scene, Brennan has already been exhibited twice at the London Art Biennale, and in 2021, was awarded the prestigious Chianciano Biennale Award. In June, two of his nudes, Hold Your Own and The Recliner, were auctioned at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr in Brussels as part of The Male Formsales.
Having exhibited his £1 million painting of Lucian Freud’s muse, Sue Tilley, at London’s prestigious Saatchi Gallery in 2023, Brennan is taking the art world by storm.
Brennan now locates himself at the epicentre of art world at his studio in Margate, taking inspiration from Tracey Emin’s hometown by the sea.
Having worked with interior designers and architects, his paintings have found homes from LA to a number of restaurants and homes in London.
I don’t just paint the human body, I paint the human feelings covered in flesh.”
Brennan’s abstract landscapes are often his response to the elements and to nature.
His close observation combines with intriguing surface texture and carefully balanced composition to create unique representation of his own internal landscape.
There is an engaging open-ended narrative in Brennan’s paintings that allows the viewer to be suspended in a dreamlike reality. No defined answers are offered, only the encouragement to enter a world within the piece and explore it with your own sensibility. In essence, much of the work is a plateau for personal exploration. The enticing tones and textures draw you into a tactile surface, guiding the observer whilst encouraging them to fill in the blanks with their own interpretation.
Each piece explores the enigmatic nature of individuality and reflects the artist’s trust in the experience of surrendering and unfolding.
“Each painting feels more like a sculpting of sorts. I prefer to work with a stiff paint and often incorporate builders materials into some of my works to make the paint feel more like clay.
I try in as much as possible to invite the viewer into my paintings & to arouse a sense of curiosity.”
Brennan has raised a five figure sum for Cancer Research UK, Marie Keating Foundation as well as the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice by auctioning his paintings at these celebrity events.