Article by Elizabeth Martin
Photos by Tom Lau

Alternating laughter with serious, educated opinions, 33 year old painter Kieran McGonnell possesses energy, excitement and a passionate fervor that defines his work as well. On a balmy afternoon in his downtown Chelsea studio/home, this artist with searing blue eyes puts finishing touches on the studio's newly painted walls (it had survived an electrical fire) in preparation for his much anticipated annual open studio evening.

Ensconced among vividly colored oils and watercolors in various stages of completion, the strikingly handsome Irishman spoke forthrightly of his creative process and how it shapes his life. "The paintings I make are a reaction to what happens to be going on in my life on any given day. If I'm watching the news and there is a big item on sex abuse or flights from Cuba, invariably, that information will show up in the work I produce that day. Every day's focus is spontaneous, what becomes predictable about my work thus far is the consistent figural representation in the paintings."

Growing up in County Cork, the young McGonnell was obsessed with creative play, putting things together only to take them apart. While most youngsters might want to take a ride on a Ferris wheel, this precocious youth was intrigued with how the ride worked, how the parts fit together creatively, thoughtfully analyzing the dynamics of the system. "Since I was little I was obsessed with creating new scenarios and worlds, constructing alternative realities. That curiosity still informs my work today guiding my painting; the inquisitiveness comes from within." Persistently inventive, he focused on creating structural assemblages, studied painting with teacher Edward Quinn in Ireland and learned to play the classical guitar in his teens. With a math and science Bachelor degree from Regional Technical College, Cork, in hand, he came to New York for studies at Hunter College where he obtained a painting BFA, and quickly received recognition within the increasingly competitive New York art scene. His work was in the 1994 Stonewall 25th Anniversary juried installation in New York; he was included in the 40 Under 40 Chase BanK/lrish Echo presentation that commemorates young Irish achievers on the move in the United States. McGonnell has also has been written up in the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Menninger Perspective and Artspeak. This fall, his paintings were featured in a three-part series published by DNR, the leading men's fashion trade magazine.

Adds the flamboyant artist, "Once I decided that painting was the career for me, life became simpler. Painting became part of my daily discipline and structure. Every day it's a new start, it's a commitment. If you aren't starting every day, it is time to put down the brush. While I try to express a timeless quality in my work, the reality is that each day's work is unique, the paintings reflect an encapsulated slice of time." Typically, McGonnell begins the day early painting from 7 a.m. until late afternoon. He then takes a break, and begins the evening's work uisiting gallery owners, prospective clients and collectors or by having them stop by the studio to see his latest paintings. His circle of friends includes many artists, writers and actors, and he always seems to be stepping out to see a new show, try a new French restaurant or catch a quick weekend away in Miami for a bit or r & r--as evidenced by his current autumn tan. Art as both a career and lifestyle encompasses McGonnell's daily practice in addition to his social engagements--in fact, for him the two seem to be inextricably bound.

Currently McGonnell's work generates a significant, positive buzz. His dramatic and innovative paintings on Venetian blinds served as the stage design for acclaimed choreographer Sean Curran's debut at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. This past May, several of McGonnell's paintings were exhibited as part of a group show at the International Visions Gallery in Washington, DC in connection with the Kennedy Performing Arts Center Irish Arts Festival.

In lucidly describing his own work, McGonnell cites infuences from both the visual world ("American painters such as Loise Nevelson, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol and Europeans like Francis Bacon") and literary arts ("From the Europeans, I've read James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Chaucer as well.") While he may indeed be inspired by the past, there is no doubt that his work is emphatically contemporary, and original, his signature style is fresh, provocative and witty as Seen in his timely, Don't Ask, Don't Tell. His early paintings reflect McGonnell's focus on how the male figure had been dealt with throughout art history. "With the Greeks, you see the figure as significant in their quest to define the resolution between the physical and spiritual--they sought the ideal. In the Olympic games, the athletes weren't just physically talented; they were reaching for the symbiosis of both mental and physical perfection. In contemporary culture, fast-forward to billboards depicting Marky Mark in Times Square, selling perfume and underwear. It appears we as a society are still looking for the same resolution."

In terms of the physical analysis of his work, what comes across very clearly is dominant expressive brushstrokes that compose his wildly organic figural forms. Regardless of his chosen subject-- as noted by the titles of such painting as Boy Scout in High Heels, Male Space Cadet or Marilyn--the figures in them are compressed within severely restricted compositional spaces. As the antithesis of static, his paintings come to life with a combination of his hot vivid colors and his wild and imaginative animated forms.

"In my recent work, whether the focus is a painting of Nefertitti the Egyptian Queen, The Princess from Chaucer, The Catholic schoolgirl or the Super hero from the future, there is a complete sense of irony in everything I do" the animated colorist says. "With the Princess (seen in The Pilgrim's Progress, Ceremonial Procession of the new Wimple, as well as And Suddenly the Nun Let Loose), she's supposed to be a woman of God, yet she's parading around showing off her new wimple. Essentially, before she became a Princess, she was a woman. As such, despite her religious commitments, she consumed by fashion; plucking her eyebrows and pulling her hair back to better accentuate her face, exhibiting behavior that could be construed as vain and materially self-conscious. Biologically, as a woman, the natural reason for her existence is in opposition to the mental and spiritual impositions she has put on her self. She represents a conflict of the mind and the body, socialization and culture." As a principal character from Chaucer's moralizing tale, this "all about attitude" provocative female figure dramatically deviates from preconceived assumptions of the serene cloistered life. In McGonnell's world, the Princess proudly flaunts and parades her sensual body, showing off with great delight the impressive headdress that signifies her power. With respect to his organic human forms he explains, "They are all pretty much naked, the clothing or accessories they have chosen to adopt are all about fashion, not for survival or any basic instincts. Their fashion choices are very specific and individual, yet collectively rather ridiculous."

Do the Catholic School Girl Shake depicts a citric toned, eerily nubile and elongated girlish form severely constrained by the physical limitations of the encroaching canvas. It seems to suggest a metaphor related to the restraints of society. McGonnell elaborates: "She's fun, all about gesture, yet she wears a set of natural armour, almost like an insect. In a funny way, she's also quite vulnerable and innocent. Her movements force the viewer to wonder: 'Is it a ritual or a routine? Does she shake?' It's an optimistic painting, ultimately; her dance becomes all about who she is. She's been raised by a religious order, protected and groomed. Yet look at the future before her--one senses that she is about to burst forth, sprout and bloom into something terribly wild and energized. She's literally and figuratively going to burst out of her space."

Musing about the male and female forms in his work, the artist endearingly reveals his empathetic approach. "I'm trying to express their representations as individual women and men, not just what we as society see into the significance of the high heels, the uniform, the ponytail or the headdress. I want to communicate with a visual language, boil it all down to what becomes the essences of us as individuals."

Ironically, by choosing to focus on the vestiges of social trappings, McGonnell reinforces the notion that beneath our outer shells, we are all the same. Beyond the outward accoutrements, we are just like any other man or woman. Forcing the viewer to approach his subjects differently, his work persistently queries the restrictive categorizing that occurs in our culture. "Art is nebulous, like spirituality, a painting reflects different surfaces, but it's all about paint. The figures in my paintings are just reflections of humanity. If we can get back to the commonality that we all share, we can see each other as being far more similar than different."