About

Painting since 2001, Christchurch-born painter Brad Bannan has developed his own personal and original style, molding each piece with the intention of entertaining the eye of the viewer with unexpected scenes and juxtapositions. Entirely self-taught and largely uninfluenced by the mainstream art world and its institutions, Bannan has been able to forge a fresh style and perspective.

A registered Architect, Bannan lives and works in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Works 2005-2020- Object and Place

Through his paintings, Bannan displays an interest in the juxtaposition of place and object. For place, the allure of the sea becomes apparent early on, with the seascape featuring in a great number of works from 2005-2020. Chosen for its ability to remain constant yet forever variable, the seascape is worthy as a subject in its own right. Bannan however resists this urge, instead forcing it back as a trustworthy stage.

The viewers attention shifts back and forth between the relationship of scene and subject. From 2009 Bannan began the exploration of taking a very inward and urban focused subject to interact with the outward seascape backdrop. A passion for historic buildings led facades to be displayed, suspended and superimposed onto an unidentifiable seascape, not in their entirety but as selected fragments. The result of this juxtaposition cannot reveal whether the image is being assembled or disassembled, as if a two-dimensional cut-out has been fixed to the canvas.

Before painting, an examination of the façade picks out features that warrant a second look, whether that be a shadow from a fire escape stair, or a subtle reflection in a window. This way, viewers are forced to see the building through Bannan’s eyes.

“..the painted elements have their own turmoil, as if trying to decide whether they are two-dimensional collage-like pieces on a three-dimensional background, or if borrowing negative space from the background as if to draw from it..”. 

New Works- Abstract Romanticism

In more recent works, Bannan abandons the concept of object in place for place as the subject. Always seeking out beauty in the natural world, Bannan applies his own interpretation based off experience and emotion. Sharing characteristics of the early 19th Century Romantics, these works explore the artists inner feelings, using expressive marks as the vehicle. By combining calmer flat areas with gestural mark-making, the personal response to a scene as experienced by the artist is shared with the viewer.