Brooklyn Whelan Australian, b. 1976
Working primarily with acrylics and oils on canvas, Brooklyn Whelan's style is heavily influenced by weather patterns and futurism. His work is somewhere between abstract and realism, ethereal, minimal, and modern.
He combines bold, loose brushwork but subtly enhances it with delicate touches of pure oil paints. The beautiful soft pinks and greys against the drama of the blacks and whites and neon flashes of color. The ponderous, moody danger of his clouds against the sudden destructive power of his explosions. But under all of that, there is a hint of something more. Pareidolia – that instinct to see significant forms where none exist – kicks in. A hidden message emerges, and shapes appear before fading into the cloudscape.
"As a painter, I work to develop paintings that speak about the beauty and power that exists within weather patterns. I constantly find myself staring into oncoming storms. I do not merely want to capture the image with my painting; rather, with strong, bold strokes, I want to give it life and energy, also the sense of fiction and fantasy that one might see in an 80's sci-fi - Powerful electricity, but with a tone of grace, softness, and movement."
Whelan's commercial career has also seen him collaborate with some of the world's biggest brands, including Adidas, Samsung, Universal Records, and Bergdorf Goodman NYC. He also created the original typeface for Justin Bieber's single "Mark My Words" and was the first artist in residence with Australia's largest music and arts festival, Splendour in the Grass.
