Anthony Cudahy
Backyard (two apart), 2022
Oil on linen
121.9 x 152.4 x 3.2 cm
48 x 60 x 1 1/4 in
48 x 60 x 1 1/4 in
Anthony Cudahy (b.1989 Florida, USA) received a BFA from Pratt Institute, NY in 2011 and completed an MFA at Hunter College, NY in 2020. He lives and works in Brooklyn,...
Anthony Cudahy (b.1989 Florida, USA) received a BFA from Pratt Institute, NY in 2011 and completed an MFA at Hunter College, NY in 2020. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Cudahy’s tender paintings reveal the nuanced complexities of life. In masterful compositions he creates a world for unspoken stories, intimate moments and romantic gesture. Personal and poetic, Cudahy’s figures coalesce with the atmosphere of their environments in fluid brushstrokes.
Cudahy devotedly collects images. His collection draws upon archives, film stills, snapshots of his partner, ancient sites, hagiographic icons and the photography of his great uncle, Kenny Gardner (which his husband, Ian Lewandowski has been compiling). Cudahy returns to his collected images time and time again, for they have a potent quality, which sparks ideas and concepts for the works. Painting several versions of the same figure or scene, in each work he will make changes to the dimension, media, crop and narrative.
For Cudahy, the archive becomes a site for imagining – in the process of painting, scenes become less specific to time and place but hint more at the mythical or potential reality. References from art history ranging from Pompeii tiles, the Bayeux tapestry, Bruegel and Bosch find their way into his lexicon and visual shorthand. Floral elements from tapestries are used for their decorative formal qualities. Cudahy intuitively combines motifs with personal imagery to create a complex compositional puzzle. Bringing the past into the present, the sensitive works re-visit and expand on the original references.
There is a presence of narrative possibility playing out within and beyond Cudahy’s painted surface. In Backyard (two apart) (2022) only glimpses of figures profiles can be seen, from bodies outside of the painting. There is a waiting of sorts, creating the sensation that they are on the brink of something about to happen. Cudahy creates an unusual composition, exploring space and place in elements of exteriors and nature.
Cultivating subtleties and complexities, Cudahy’s expansive curiosity and empathy is evident in his idiosyncratic works. Each piece has the power to suspend time, speaking to an emotional truth and the continuum of experience.
Cudahy’s tender paintings reveal the nuanced complexities of life. In masterful compositions he creates a world for unspoken stories, intimate moments and romantic gesture. Personal and poetic, Cudahy’s figures coalesce with the atmosphere of their environments in fluid brushstrokes.
Cudahy devotedly collects images. His collection draws upon archives, film stills, snapshots of his partner, ancient sites, hagiographic icons and the photography of his great uncle, Kenny Gardner (which his husband, Ian Lewandowski has been compiling). Cudahy returns to his collected images time and time again, for they have a potent quality, which sparks ideas and concepts for the works. Painting several versions of the same figure or scene, in each work he will make changes to the dimension, media, crop and narrative.
For Cudahy, the archive becomes a site for imagining – in the process of painting, scenes become less specific to time and place but hint more at the mythical or potential reality. References from art history ranging from Pompeii tiles, the Bayeux tapestry, Bruegel and Bosch find their way into his lexicon and visual shorthand. Floral elements from tapestries are used for their decorative formal qualities. Cudahy intuitively combines motifs with personal imagery to create a complex compositional puzzle. Bringing the past into the present, the sensitive works re-visit and expand on the original references.
There is a presence of narrative possibility playing out within and beyond Cudahy’s painted surface. In Backyard (two apart) (2022) only glimpses of figures profiles can be seen, from bodies outside of the painting. There is a waiting of sorts, creating the sensation that they are on the brink of something about to happen. Cudahy creates an unusual composition, exploring space and place in elements of exteriors and nature.
Cultivating subtleties and complexities, Cudahy’s expansive curiosity and empathy is evident in his idiosyncratic works. Each piece has the power to suspend time, speaking to an emotional truth and the continuum of experience.