Andrew Lenaghan
During March and April the GEORGE ADAMS GALLERY will exhibit new paintings by ANDREW LENAGHAN. The exhibition, which is installed in both the Main and Drawing galleries, features canvases and panel paintings from the past two years of the interior and exterior of the artist’s home in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.
“Around the House” consists mostly of large oils on canvas made possible by the fact that, while still working from life, he didn’t need to be concerned about commuting to a site far from the studio. The result is a careful study of his immediate surroundings, notably the view out over his backyard in different seasons, the view across the street at dusk, or interior and exterior views of his home.
For example, four “Backyard” paintings depict the view of his neighbor’s house and destroyed garage (a victim of Hurricane Sandy) in different seasons and light; notable is the bright sunlight and shadows of “Spring” and the snow-covered lavender dusk of “Winter.”
There is also the sharply angled and extended horizontal survey of his backyard from the ground up to the rooftop. Two spare interiors are included: one reveals a self-portrait, the other focuses on a tattered armchair in an otherwise empty room.
Lenaghan was born and raised in New Brunswick, NJ, received his BFA from Cornell University and his MFA from Brooklyn College. His work is in the collections of Yale University’s Art Gallery, the Flint Art institute in Michigan, the Greenville County Museum of Art, and Middlebury College’s Museum of Art, among others. This is Lenaghan’s 12th exhibition with the gallery since 1995.