A half length oil portrait of a man, naked, with a pigeon perched on his outstretched finger. Behind him, deep green foliage.
Emmet Kierans, At One with Nature, 2020. © Emmet Kierans.Credit

Emmet Kierans

At One with Nature, 2020

Oil on wood panel, 116 x 100 cm

Emmet Kierans enjoys painting figures that exist in a parallel reality, where the characters portrayed are manifestations of their underlying feelings, emotions and psychological states. This self-portrait imagines a version of the artist that rejects the conventions and formalities of modern society in an attempt to become a more instinctive and intuitive being. The painting follows this idea to an absurd conclusion, portraying the artist as a city dweller, whose only notions of nature are houseplants and pigeons, naively living in the woods.

 

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