Spencer SweeneySweeney's multifaceted persona is constituted by his roles as artist, club owner and musician. Sweeney's practice transcends the idea that the artist's proper realm is subjugated to the space of the gallery or museum. Eluding an easily identifiable style Sweeney's paintings reflect the diversity of his influences and roles. His colorful collaged paintings, self-portraits and cartoonish drawings both derive from and create his public persona in a way that is reminiscent of artists such as Martin Kippenberger and Francis Picabia. For his July 2011 show at The Green Gallery, entitled NUDES, Sweeney limited his palette to black and white gesso on raw linen. What was revealed by this reduction of materials were figures present in Sweeney's other work but more stripped down and raw. Essential characters both mythic and contemporary. They create a narrative in a world of their own. Tightly woven and beautifully conceived NUDES displayed Sweeney's versatility and ability as a painter.
Spencer Sweeney was born in Philadelphia in 1973 and is currently living in New York. Recent exhibitions include The Green Gallery, Milwaukee; Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; Teatr Laboratorium, Berlin; and Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco. Sweeney was included in "That Was Then...This Is Now" at PS1 Contemporary Art Center in 2008, and he participated in "Day for Night", the 2006 Whitney Biennial.
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