A self-taught artist, Brendan paints as a way to unplug from his day job in software product management and re-connect to the physical world. He is a recovering misanthrope, aspiring biophiliac, and seeker of self.
Brendan lives in Burlington, VT.
Artist Statement
I make art to feel, to forgive, to accept, and to love myself. Painting provides my heart a voice where words are insufficient. Painting allows me to define and inhabit myself.
I grew up between generations, ably digital but innately analog. I like to touch and feel. I long for extended full-body hugs.
Creating art is the puzzle piece it took me 35 years to find. It is how I fight against the digitization of my humanity and breathe life into my emotional, corporeal form.
Painting gives me permission to feel anger because I can make it physical – I can look at it, name it, and release it. It gives me permission to feel sadness—clearing my head space enough that I can meditate on loss that I would otherwise subconsciously ignore. Painting allows me to feel glee, to accept relief, to release, and to examine myself both critically and lovingly.
My abstract creations represent an urgent itch – an endless compulsion that manifests as motion. They squirm, burst, and urge with a potent, restless release. I enjoy creating works that challenge a viewer to embrace discomfort, submit to a visual hallucination, and disrupt the linear thoughts dictated by their animal brain.
Events & Exhibitions
2023 “Challenging The Topic of Nature” – Tahawus Cultural Center | Ausable Forks, NY
2023 South End Art Hop (Innovation Center Group Show) | Burlington, VT
2022-2023 FlynnDog Gallery (Solo Show) | Burlington, VT
2021 South End Art Hop (S.P.A.C.E. Gallery Group Show) | Burlington, VT
2021 SEABA Member’s Show | Technology Park | South Burlington, VT
2020 Stay Home / Stay Safe (group exhibition) | Burlington City Arts | Burlington, VT
2020 Dealer.com | Burlington, VT
2020 Innovation Center | Burlington, VT
2020 Speeder & Earl’s | Burlington, VT
2019 South End Art Hop (S.P.A.C.E. Gallery Group Show) | Burlington, VT
2019 SEABA Member’s Show | VCAM | Burlington, VT
2019 Ri Ra Patio Competition (Live Mural Painting) | Burlington, VT
2019 City Market, South End | Burlington, VT
2019 “From Natural To Abstraction” (group show) | VCAM | Burlington, VT
2019 Amherst Town Library | Amherst, NH
2018 ArtsRiot Holiday Artist Market (vendor) | Burlington, VT
2018 Magic Hat Brewing | Burlington, VT
2018 South End Art Hop (multiple group shows) | Burlington, VT
2018 SEABA Member’s Show | VCAM | Burlington, VT
2017 South End Art Hop (multiple group shows) | Burlington, VT