Valerie Brennan was born in Ireland in 1973 and now lives in Paphos, Cyprus. She studied at Limeric School of Art (1993-1995) and Lemba College of Art (1999-2000). Upon graduating she spent a decade in the artistic centres of Mexico City and Madrid. In 2009 she returned to Cyprus, which has been her home ever since. Drawn to the humble, prosaic and handmade, Valerie’s abstract works sit somewhere between painting and textile. Natural materials such as burlap and hessian are combined with oil, oilstick, tacks and nails. Allowing her raw materials space to breathe, she actively welcomes spontaneity and evidence of the creative process.  Valerie has had solo exhibitions with the Apocalypse Gallery in Nicosia, with Fred Giampietro Gallery, New Haven and at La Casita in Mexico City. International group exhibitions include Parallel Art Space New York, the Torrance Museum of Art, Santa Monica and with Kirk Hopper Fine Art, Texas. Brennan is also the creator and author of Studio Critical Blog which interviews contemporary painters on their studio practice. From 2014 to 2017 she ran Studio Apothiki, a working studio and gallery with a specific focus on abstract painting in Paphos, Cyprus.  

I want my paintings to express my hand in their making from start to finish and so I try to take an inclusive approach to making them, to use the tacks and nails that hold them together in a prominent way, to not hide the stuff they are made of. They are arrived at in unexpected ways and dialogues that happen, happen through the making of the painting. I love not knowing what the outcome of the work will be. The materials are a mix of highbrow and lowbrow, part DIY store and part art store. I enjoy the dialogue of using an expensive piece of linen with recycled cardboard for example. I am not precious and often cover my studio floor with canvas or burlap and just allow accidental marks to accumulate as a bi product. I easily add or subtract to the surface, the paintings feel collapsible, ephemeral, I can pin on elements, forms and move them around with great ease, and it feels fluid.

VALERIE BRENNAN

selected works