Artist Bio - Brian MacNeil

Born and raised in South Boston in 1980, the artist Brian MacNeil energizes the multiplicity of mediums and subjects he paints by infusing fresh inspiration to the timeless themes of virtue and life. Modern and traditional art forms unite, creating excitement while paying homage to the history of painting. As a practicing tattoo artist, MacNeil has spent over a decade developing a conversation between his painting and tattoo art. His muted natural tones accented with high hues intermingle to create a depth and tension. Whether his paintings are figurative, allegorical, still life or landscape, a sense of presence, substance and timelessness always lingers in MacNeil’s beautifully finished works. It is almost as if the work had been created with more than the materials they were made from.

Brian MacNeil has exhibited in galleries in London, Florence, Boston, Providence, and Laguna Beach. He attended The Angel Academy in Florence, Italy, graduating in 2007 under Michael John Angel, a former student of the famous Italian painter Pietro Annigoni. Since then, he has sought to represent his concepts of life, death, and the metaphysical with the pursuit of self-reflection and refinement as his goal. MacNeil’s studies of paintings and sculptures reveal his desire to tap into a lineage of painters. Seeking to find new ways of representation, MacNeil draws inspiration from the techniques of masters like the Venetians and Flemish painters of the Baroque era, including the chiaroscuro or Tenebrism of Piero Della Francesca and Da Vinci, later made popular again by Caravaggio and Ribera. By building on the wisdom and genius of others he is able to fulfill his vision of beauty and truth in a way relevant to today.