slide image

Culture

INTRODUCING LEAH HEWSON: OUR NEW ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

This week marks 1 year of our beautiful new store in Brown Thomas Dundrum where we introduced the very first Brown Thomas artist in residence, Ciara O'Neill. This year we are delighted to welcome Leah Hewson, niece of Bono, whose bright graphic work has been sold at auction in Sotheby’s in London and is in private collectors in New York, Australia, Germany, France, Norway, and Spain. She brings a very special piece to Brown Thomas Dundrum to open her residency. We caught up with her to find out more about her process, travels and media she loves to work in right now.

The people and places who have most inspired my work are…

The colours, architecture and energy of New York, Berlin, Cuba, South America and India come to mind which is probably a really boring answer. My parents gave me a studio in the back garden. Even though my family didn't always get what was going on in there, they have been there for me from the start. I'm inspired by their support. I have a diverse group of friends who are all creative in different ways, this brings interesting points of view in dialogue which is inspiring and keeps me open minded. I have to mention Sean Scully because I interned for him eight years ago which saw a transformative pivot in my work from figurative to abstract. It was only then I understood that I could be more intimate and true with my work if the figure wasn't in the way. I've never looked back.

slide image

The media I love to work in right now is…

Acrylic and lacquer painting, multiple techniques in print, Perspex, glass, installation. I deliberately keep my practice open to every type of medium because that's where interesting things can happen. My practice keeps moving forward if I try to stay malleable as a creator. I usually just let materials come to me organically and never try to force a relationship with them. I recently had the opportunity to work in glass which came from my perspex work but I had never considered working in glass before. Trying to marry what I do with such an established material on a large scale was a great challenge where I learned a lot. I would love to see an evolving relationship with my work in glass.

My work/paintings evolve by…

Having a consistent flow of projects on the go at different stages. I find if I am working with a mix of materials in the studio at one time my entire creative brain is being used which brings a mix of feeling confident in what I'm doing one minute and less so in another. That ever so slight uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what I'm doing that can be cushioned by self belief is the sweet spot to creating good things. My painting practice evolves best when I'm not afraid to make a mistake. I usually have a couple emerging at one time, each informing the next and propelling my practice forward every time.

As an artist, connectivity is important to me because…

As a human, connectivity is important. Art only exists in context and connection is the key to everything. To me, my art is a way of communicating with the world so it feels like a tool or portal to being understood, but on my terms. The abstract language that I use is to be interpreted by the audience into whatever they want. It will resonate with some and not with others. In a way this brings the idea that we sometimes are not so connected and that's ok but its important to be connected to yourself.

To me, my art is a way of communicating with the world so it feels like a tool or portal to being understood, but on my terms.

Leah Hewson

The coolest piece of art I’ve ever found on my travels is…

Richard Serra's work in the Dia Beacon in New York. Art on a massive scale and in the perfect space. The Boros Collection in Berlin. It's a private collection of contemporary art that is exhibited in a converted old World War Bunker. The whole experience blew my mind.

The art book on my coffee table right now is…

'Nike: Better is Temporary' and 'The History of Art without Men' by Katy Hessel.

The best people watching spot in the world is…

The corner of Grogans Pub in the summer.

I never walk away empty handed from…

A garage/gas station. I'm a sucker for a chocky bar impulse buy.....(or two!)

The best advice I was ever given was…

If you don't ask, you don't get.

The podcast that's always on rotation for me is…

The Joe Rogan Experience or Diary of a CEO.

slide image

The work I am creating as Brown Thomas artist in residence for 2023 is all about…

Freedom of expression in its truest form which I believe lives in the unconscious mind. It's important in my work to be able to stay feeling liberated in the process, without judgment of myself or anticipated judgment of an audience. To let something organically grow and exist as it is. I also have an interest in cognition of the brain. I create optical illusions of light, form and dimension that linger on the peripheral areas of the visual brain and poke at our visual perception. My work is made up of multiple layers, so we are going to pull the layers and elements of my abstract language out of the painting and let them thrive in three - dimensional space. This will give each layer its own identity and a new kinetic relationship with the viewer. The work you will see will have a mix of materials, colour, light, expression and lots of different processes involved.

slide image

DISCOVER BROWN THOMAS DUNDRUM

MORE TO READ

Looking for even more new season inspiration? Find all that and more here in 8 ways to Step Into Spring Right Now.