Brendan Neiland is one of Britain’s foremost and contemporary painters and printmakers, creating some of the most memorable images of modern metropolitan existence. His representations of the modern cityscape are both figurative and yet abstract in their use of light and modulated colour.
He uses drawings in his research of different subject matter, using sketches to inform and define the imagery of his artwork. However he also uses these drawings as templates through which paint is sprayed and structured onto the canvas. Through this technique Brendan can build layers of glazing, creating an uninterrupted surface save for subtle changes in hue, tone, and structure.
His art is heavily influenced by the diverse ranges of architecture which are found all over Europe, as well as the industrial structures of British cities, and through use of both he encourages people to reappraise their environments and feel more involved with them.
At once intimate and grand, celebratory and melancholy, his work often features soaring glass and steel structures typical of the era’s corporate architecture. At the same time, the work embraces a range of spiritual matters. Able to convey the depths of longing contained within a moments reflection – in the mystery of mirrored light, held in creative equipoise between worlds of culture and nature, technology and spirit – Brendan Neiland is an artist whose work appeals to both the public and private realm.
Neiland has exhibited widely and is represented in major museums and galleries worldwide including, in Britain, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Tate Gallery London, The Collections of the British Council and the Arts Council of Great Britain, He has been awarded numerous prizes including the John Moore’s XI prize (1978) and was elected a Royal Academician in 1992.