Looking Forward,
Utopian Slumps, Melbourne
12 Sep – 26 Sep 2009
LOOKING FORWARD
“It all starts with an idea. A feeling. A mood.”
Brendan Huntley works instinctively with the materials he has at hand, taking inspiration from everyday object and forms. His work goes beyond the actual materials, and communicates basic human impulses: the need to create, to connect, to surprise, to share something about our experiences as humans.
In Huntley’s sculptures and paintings there is a spark of necessity; it is as though there was no choice but fo him to make these particular works in this particular way. There is also his personal and direct exploratio of what it is to be human; to surround ourselves with objects and to acknowledge that these objects define our humanity.
The intimate and considered groupings of sculptures and paintings, and the way they are placed in relation to one another accentuates the faces staring out at us with dark unblinking eyes. This space between the works, and the way the works inhabit a space together capture something. An idea, a feeling, a mood.
The urgent simplicity in Huntley’s work makes me think that things really are as simple or as complex as you make them. Look around. Some things don’t need to be explained. Perhaps everything is already here, right in front of you.
Olivia Radonich
“It all starts with an idea. A feeling. A mood.”
Brendan Huntley works instinctively with the materials he has at hand, taking inspiration from everyday object and forms. His work goes beyond the actual materials, and communicates basic human impulses: the need to create, to connect, to surprise, to share something about our experiences as humans.
In Huntley’s sculptures and paintings there is a spark of necessity; it is as though there was no choice but fo him to make these particular works in this particular way. There is also his personal and direct exploratio of what it is to be human; to surround ourselves with objects and to acknowledge that these objects define our humanity.
The intimate and considered groupings of sculptures and paintings, and the way they are placed in relation to one another accentuates the faces staring out at us with dark unblinking eyes. This space between the works, and the way the works inhabit a space together capture something. An idea, a feeling, a mood.
The urgent simplicity in Huntley’s work makes me think that things really are as simple or as complex as you make them. Look around. Some things don’t need to be explained. Perhaps everything is already here, right in front of you.
Olivia Radonich
© Brendan Huntely 2020