brett amory | | atractivoquenobello

Brett Amory whose dark light paintings invaded the NYC gallery Jonathan Levine last summer are finally coming to the UK… he’ll be presenting (and debuting) his latest works from the “Waiting” series @ Newcastle’s The Outsiders gallery (we usually don’t talk about many things outside London but…. exceptional occasions deserve exceptional posts).

from the series Waiting 101 by Brett Amory3

The Chesapeake-born, Oakland-based painter has been developing his Waiting series for over a decade, documenting and capturing figures and landscapes in the Bay Area and in this case focusing on Amory’s relationship with technology and the versatility it adds to his work. New ways for Brett to paint, to apply his intimate view and eternal blurred compositions. He’s used for instance Instagram and a few other photographic apps to allow him capture those moments he truly needs to paint.

“With my iPhone, I always have a camera on hand. Iʼm able to capture what I experience day in day out,” he says. “Every morning I wake up and walk to the café for a cup of coffee. On the way I see the same people following their own routines. New technology allows me to document these people as they go about their lives. Capturing the people I see in my neighbourhood on film and later on canvas, is really a documentation of what I do and see on a daily basis. This body of work aims to give the viewer a look into my own experience. Hopefully it opens up a deeper personal exchange between myself and the viewer.”

from the series Waiting 101 by Brett Amory2

It’s no secret that artists are using new technologies to capture and manipulate the exact inspiring moments of reality the come across every day, from research and hours-long observation to 1-click photos. Easier for the artist or simply richer compositions? A unique opportunity for you to judge up north England opening this Thursday and running for exact one month!

Lucky if you live up north right? More info this way, images courtesy of The Outsiders.

And together with our admired Dan Witz and his Mosh Pit Paintings, Mr Brett Amory will also be presenting his new works in what will be his debut solo exhibition in New York!

The California-based artist brings to the Jonathan Levine Gallery his latest oils expanding on his ongoing series of works entitled “Waiting”… studies of urban life through fragmented cityscapes and anonymous, isolated figures.

Amory began the Waiting series in 2001 with paintings depicting commuter subjects seemingly detached from their fellow passengers and surrounding environments, inspired by the introverted culture of public transit and inhabitants of the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, where the artist lived for thirteen years….

Works that are mainly based on photographs he’s taken himself of the city architecture and its regular inhabitants, those he tends to speak to. But feels particularly attracted to paint lonely individuals, those who look lost, maybe a bit awkward, those who just can’t fit in our society.

Brett’s works have also evolved over time reducing existing elements of the urban environment and filling the gaps with “negative space”, focusing on the human figures who tend to look like ghosts.

And because we forgot to tell you last week when we talked about Dan Witz‘ exhibition the Jonathan Levine gallery will be hosting Mr Amory’s paintings for the next 31 days. You know what to do if you’re in New York right?

(more info on the gallery website)