Brian O’Connell
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Brian O’Connell, Brightly Coupled 14, 2013Gum bichromate print on watercolor paper, glass, and lead solder. 24 x 18 in. (60.96 x 45.72 cm). Courtesy of Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles. Photo by Gaea Woods. -
Brian O’Connell, Brightly Coupled 15, 2013Gum bichromate print on watercolor paper, glass, and lead solder. 24 x 18 in. (60.96 x 45.72 cm). Courtesy of Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles. Photo by Gaea Woods. -
Brian O’Connell, Openings to the water I stopped/searched for cracks and the wanting parts I fixed-/A boat sold by the daughter of its builder, a fisherman/to a shipwright who left it there, 2012Concrete, steel, and wooden fishing boat remnants. 8 x 7 x 27 ft. (2.4 x 2.1 x 8.22 m). Installation view, Protocinema, Istanbul, Turkey. Courtesy of Protocinema Istanbul/New York and Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles. Photo by Batu Tezyüksel. -
Brian O’Connell, Untitled #5, 2013Rapid-set cement and balsa wood. 44 x 34 in. (111.76 x 86.36 cm). Exhibition view of Walls & Lights, 6757 Santa Monica Blvd, July 13-August 17, Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles. Courtesy of Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles. Photo by Gaea Woods.
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About the Artist
Born 1972 in Leuven, Belgium
Brian O’Connell gets in his own way, and in a sense, that’s the point. For each of his artworks, O’Connell delves into extensive research, which he employs to create sets of site-specific conditions or obstacles that make creating the final piece more difficult. Typically, these processes, such as rammed-earth construction or gum-bichromate photography, are outmoded technologies that were once alternatives to dominant forms of construction.
O’Connell treats the process of building his installations with the same amount of attention as the final work. Thus, each piece is part of an expansive project that archives all of O’Connell’s processes, circumstantial evidence, and residual effects. Whether building concrete boats from local materials in Turkey or cutting away parts of a gallery wall, O’Connell maintains a careful attention to process. Ultimately, he builds his work over time and meticulously documents his methodology in accompanying book works and in the object itself—articulating each project’s relevance and position in multiple timeframes, where historical references interweave with present-day circumstances.