Brian Whelan
Encyclopedia
Brian Whelan is a noted London-Irish painter, author and occasional film maker.
. He lives with his wife, Wendy Roseberry and works in the UK, US, Spain and Ireland.
.
website; and the cover and contents of The Popes 2009 CD Outlaw Heaven
.
Whelan’s journey as an artist found its definitive gateway in the medieval churches and dwellings of England’s East Anglia
. The vestiges of the medieval art form resonate with his Irish Catholic
roots, back to a time when there was one church and from its painted walls important stories were told. His works, like much medieval art, depict a sublime comedy of life’s glories and tragedies on both religious and secular planes.
In addition to painting religious subjects, Whelan also paints London—-the city of his birth—-using multi-perspectives and contradictory scales, bending, twisting and organising the urban chaos into harmony.
In 2009 Whelan co-curated The Quiet Men – London Irish Painters, the first major international tour (UK, Spain and US) of contemporary London Irish art. At the PM Gallery in Ealing, London Whelan first showed his large (2.7m x 3.6m)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. The book by the same name published by The Irish World Newspaper was launched in 2010
by the Irish Embassy in London.
, Peter Howson
, The Chapman Brothers, Eric Gill
and Marc Chagall
. His 'Holy City' series of paintings that celebrate religious diversity, are exhibited in sacred sites around the world (Walsingham
in the UK, Santiago de Compostela
in Spain and Czestochowa
in Poland).
Whelan's propensity to merge both the sublime with the ridiculous is not always readily embraced. His paintings in the Window Gallery of St. Martins School of Art (London) were turned to face the wall after complaints were made from the public.
Family life
Brian Francis Whelan was born 3 May 1957 in Ealing, London, of Irish Catholic parents. His father came from Dublin and his mother from KilkennyKilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
. He lives with his wife, Wendy Roseberry and works in the UK, US, Spain and Ireland.
Training
Whelan trained at the Royal Academy of Art in London. During his formative years, he studied under British artist Roderic Barrett and was mentored by Australian artist Arthur BoydArthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
.
Works and exhibitions
Whelan's painting The Martyrdom of St. Edmund permanently hangs in the Lady Chapel of St. Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St. Edmund, England.; His images are used on the Shane MacGowanShane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish musician and singer, best known as the original singer and songwriter of The Pogues.-History:...
website; and the cover and contents of The Popes 2009 CD Outlaw Heaven
Outlaw Heaven
Outlaw Heaven is the second studio album by London-Irish rock band The Popes, which was originally due for release in September 2008, but was delayed until May 2009...
.
Whelan’s journey as an artist found its definitive gateway in the medieval churches and dwellings of England’s East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. The vestiges of the medieval art form resonate with his Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
roots, back to a time when there was one church and from its painted walls important stories were told. His works, like much medieval art, depict a sublime comedy of life’s glories and tragedies on both religious and secular planes.
In addition to painting religious subjects, Whelan also paints London—-the city of his birth—-using multi-perspectives and contradictory scales, bending, twisting and organising the urban chaos into harmony.
In 2009 Whelan co-curated The Quiet Men – London Irish Painters, the first major international tour (UK, Spain and US) of contemporary London Irish art. At the PM Gallery in Ealing, London Whelan first showed his large (2.7m x 3.6m)polyptych Transmetropolitan painting - an immigrants' joyride
Joyride (crime)
To joyride is to drive around in a stolen car, boat, or other vehicle with no particular goal, a ride taken solely for pleasure.In English law, joyriding is not considered to be theft, because the intention to "permanently deprive" the owner of the vehicle cannot be proven...
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. The book by the same name published by The Irish World Newspaper was launched in 2010
by the Irish Embassy in London.
Criticism
As a “visionary painter” , Whelan’s religious works have been shown alongside those of Stanley SpencerStanley Spencer
Sir Stanley Spencer was an English painter. Much of his work depicts Biblical scenes, from miracles to Crucifixion, happening not in the Holy Land but in the small Thames-side village where he was born and spent most of his life...
, Peter Howson
Peter Howson
Peter Howson OBE is a Scottish painter. He was an official war artist in the 1993 Bosnian Civil War.Peter Howson was born in London and moved with his family to Prestwick, Ayrshire, when Howson was aged four...
, The Chapman Brothers, Eric Gill
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...
and Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
. His 'Holy City' series of paintings that celebrate religious diversity, are exhibited in sacred sites around the world (Walsingham
Walsingham
Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...
in the UK, Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
in Spain and Czestochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
in Poland).
Whelan's propensity to merge both the sublime with the ridiculous is not always readily embraced. His paintings in the Window Gallery of St. Martins School of Art (London) were turned to face the wall after complaints were made from the public.