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Sean Shanahan

Life and work


Sean Shanahan (born John William Shanahan) was born in Dublin the 17th of May 1960. Shanahan is a visual artist whose practice resides primarily in painting. He has spent his childhood growing up in Britain receiving an English education at Eton College. His academic career took shape at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Chelsea and the Croydon College of Art and Design where he pursued fine art and history of art studies. At the age of twenty two years old, in 1983, he moved to Milan where he held his first solo show in the Luigi De Ambrogi gallery. In 1986 he was awarded a scholarship for the Fundación Olivar de Castillejo in Madrid, where he stayed until 1990. In 1997 Shanahan moved to Montevecchia where he set up a studio where he further developed his techniques in the extension of oil colours in homogenous layers through the use of window squeegee (window cleaning instruments) defined by tapering that restores three-dimensionality. The artistic direction taken by Shanahan has encountered the interest of Giuseppe Panza di Biumo who began to collect Shanahan’s works in a systematic strategy. Shanahan’s works collected in the Panza Collection have been exhibited through the years at important collective shows such as the Panza collection exhibition “State of Mind” held in 2010 at the Lucca Center of Contemporary art, at the Panza collection exhibition held in 2015 “Perception of the future” and at the Panza Collection exhibition at the National gallery of Umbria in Perugia. Furthermore in Villa Panza in Varese Sean Shanahan has now been placed, in a room at the first floor, as a permanent instalment. In addition to his on-going practices Shanahan through the years has been invited in academies around the globe to hold several lectures, however, since 2019 has become a professor for the Visual Art department at NABA.

Sean Shanahan’s artistic research and development reject narrative rethorics as Shanahan’s aesthetics embraces and exploits forms and colours to convey his interpretation and experience of life. Since his early works Shanahan has reflected upon the capturing of the non-dynamic instant in the flow; the moment that fixates actions, gestures and emotions. This research is portrayed in his works through a deep contemplation of colours and the reactions of their properties to different materials. In 1990 Shanahan’s painting underwent a radical shift as he began to only work with oil painting as the characteristic of oils favoured the extending (application) of the material allowing the final result to be more fluid and transparent. In 1994 Shanahan’s research encountered a turning point as he changed the supports on which he painted moving to a material capable of absorbing the colour giving more exposure to the layers and the process his works undergo. According to the artist “The difference between metal and MDF is like the one between swimming and ice skating”. The first work on MDF “Untitled” by Shanahan was presented at the exhibition at Orchard Gallery in Derry. As a consequence to the shift in the support the vertical and horizontal application of different colours gradually transformed into monochromatic paintings framed by bevels along the edges of the MDF to emphasise the corporeality (corporal nature) of the work. Among his numerous solo and group exhibitions it’s possible to remember ‘Singular Episodic’ (2020) held in the Contemporary Art Museum of Lissone, ‘Body of Light’ (2018) held in the Luca Tommasi Contemporary Art Gallery in Milan, ‘Seven Last Words’ (2016) held in the San Fedele Gallery in Milan and ‘Unique Act’ (2008) held in The Hugh Lane in Dublin. Most Recently Sean Shanahan has began working on site specific exhibitions to strengthen in his works their urge to capture the importance of the non-dynamic instant in the flow; in addition the site specific component of the new works allows Shanahan to reflect to a greater extend on the deconstruction of the architectural component of his works. Shanahan has also progressively shifted from the traditional conception of monochromatic paintings toward a more radical approach creating multiple MDF supports painted using different colours opposed to a singular unique monochromed block. The first solo exhibition enclosing all these new aspects in Shanahan’s work is ‘Sudden Time’ held in 2021 in Villa Panza in Vasere where he has presented ‘S.T.’ (2020/21, Oil on MDF, (32 pieces) 200x326cm), ‘Taddeo’ (2018, Oil on MDF, 200x200cm), ‘Nunc’ (2021, Oil on MDF, (32 pieces) 200x326cm) and ‘Transit’ (2021, Oil on MDF, (32 pieces) 200x326cm). Following 'Sudden Time' Shanahan has inaugurated 'Cuore a fette' a solo and site specific show at Building Gallery Milan.