Working desk at Heinrich Boll Cottage, Achill, Co. Mayo, during residency November 2018
Studio Shot 2018. Photo Jozef V. Voda
Studio shot 28th September 2018
Anvil Dust, solo exhibition at the Molesworth Gallery, Dublin, 7th - 28th September.
Image: Hand In Hand Is The Only Way To Land, oil on canvas, 200 x 250cm (photo by Jozef V. Voda)
For more please click here
‘A quote from Wendell Berry in the exhibition catalogue provides a clue to Thomas Brezing’s concerns. Berry was a romantic agrarian who criticised urbanisation and flight from the land. Brezing’s images of huddled masses, lost souls and plodding lines of humanity reference our current immigration problems, and the alienation of those displaced from the land. The Technicolor nightmare of the city, as seen in Hand in Hand is the Only Way to Land, is the inferno into which these unfortunates have been thrown. Anvil Dust, the title of the show, is a by-product of the blacksmith’s trade. Brezing was brought up in the Black Forest and remembers his blacksmith father’s hands being permanently stained grey by ingrained dust. In a parallel that would excite a Freudian, Brezing also aspires to permanence in grey. He has said ‘Every painting is a new attempt at painting an empty grey canvas.’ Some potential viewers will be encouraged to hear he has so far failed in this minimalist ambition. These paintings are richly coloured expressionist works dense with the bustle of a busy and preposterous world, and bleak with the plight of humanity gathered in hopelessness.’
John P O’Sullivan, 23rd September 2018, The Sunday Times
Image: Hand In Hand Is The Only Way To Land, oil on canvas, 200 x 250cm (photo by Jozef V. Voda)
For more please click here
‘A quote from Wendell Berry in the exhibition catalogue provides a clue to Thomas Brezing’s concerns. Berry was a romantic agrarian who criticised urbanisation and flight from the land. Brezing’s images of huddled masses, lost souls and plodding lines of humanity reference our current immigration problems, and the alienation of those displaced from the land. The Technicolor nightmare of the city, as seen in Hand in Hand is the Only Way to Land, is the inferno into which these unfortunates have been thrown. Anvil Dust, the title of the show, is a by-product of the blacksmith’s trade. Brezing was brought up in the Black Forest and remembers his blacksmith father’s hands being permanently stained grey by ingrained dust. In a parallel that would excite a Freudian, Brezing also aspires to permanence in grey. He has said ‘Every painting is a new attempt at painting an empty grey canvas.’ Some potential viewers will be encouraged to hear he has so far failed in this minimalist ambition. These paintings are richly coloured expressionist works dense with the bustle of a busy and preposterous world, and bleak with the plight of humanity gathered in hopelessness.’
John P O’Sullivan, 23rd September 2018, The Sunday Times
Thomas Brezing (left), Gerard Dillon (right).
The RHA or Royal Hibernian Academy presented a selection of iconic works from the Drogheda Municipal Art Collection from some of Irelands best known and influential artists dating from the eighteenth century to present day in the Dr. Tony Ryan Gallery from 5 October – 19 November 2017.
RHA Director, Patrick T. Murphy, working alongside Aoife Ruane, Director of the Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda curated a selection of highlights from the collection. Nano Reid, Mainie Jellet, Thomas Brezing, Jessica Foley, Simon Coleman, Kate Byrne, Gerard Dillon, Beatrice Glenavy, May Guinness, Letitia Mary Hamilton, Anthony Haughey, Grace Henry, Evie Hone, John Francis Kelly, Claire Marsh, Norah McGuinness, Sean McSweeney, Sinead Ni Mhaonaigh, Jackie Nickerson, Bea Orpen, Sarah Purser, Patrick Pye, Hilda Roberts, Mary Swanzy, Charles Tyrrell.
The RHA or Royal Hibernian Academy presented a selection of iconic works from the Drogheda Municipal Art Collection from some of Irelands best known and influential artists dating from the eighteenth century to present day in the Dr. Tony Ryan Gallery from 5 October – 19 November 2017.
RHA Director, Patrick T. Murphy, working alongside Aoife Ruane, Director of the Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda curated a selection of highlights from the collection. Nano Reid, Mainie Jellet, Thomas Brezing, Jessica Foley, Simon Coleman, Kate Byrne, Gerard Dillon, Beatrice Glenavy, May Guinness, Letitia Mary Hamilton, Anthony Haughey, Grace Henry, Evie Hone, John Francis Kelly, Claire Marsh, Norah McGuinness, Sean McSweeney, Sinead Ni Mhaonaigh, Jackie Nickerson, Bea Orpen, Sarah Purser, Patrick Pye, Hilda Roberts, Mary Swanzy, Charles Tyrrell.
Film still, Out Too Far (Wishing Too Many Things)
To watch the film (9 min duration) please click here
To watch the film (9 min duration) please click here
Technofossil, found July 2017 in Loughshinny. Exhibited at the Loughshinny Boathouse Launch, 7th October 2017. Participating artists and writers: Eithne Lannon, Peter O'Neill, Vanessa Daws, Thomas Brezing, Dave West, Declan Gorman, Deirdre Glenfield, Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty.
