Overview
Kenrick McFarlane

McFarlane sees the act of painting as a meditative process that focuses as much on the journey as on the result. He lets himself be guided by thoughts, longings and emotions that inspire his visual language. His paintings are not the result of a composition planned in detail, but emerge as if by chance from the dynamic flow of painting. The result can lead to a specific arrangement of figures in space or end in a wild overlapping of layers of paint. 

His painted subjects feature male and female figures coming together in dreamlike sequences. Figurative elements often become blurred or lose themselves in complete abstraction. A strong brushstroke merges into fine, flat surfaces. McFarlane once referred to his larger paintings as «psychological landscapes» that were autobiographically inspired. At the same time, he takes up taboo themes, such as the intimate relationship between black men and white women. The subtle eroticism is not only reflected in the poses of the individual protagonists, but is also carried by a colour palette inspired by the distinctive red of Francis Bacon. The result is a pictorial world in which beauty and truth reside precisely because of their immediacy.

McFarlane completed his Master of Fine Arts at the University of California in Los Angeles in 2022. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in the US and South Africa since 2010. Recent solo exhibitions were presented at M+B Gallery, Los Angeles (2021, 2023), and Gallery MOMO in Johannesburg (2020). Group exhibitions include „Mystic Detectives“ at Samek Art Museum, Bucknell (2018) and „Eclectic Coherence“, Expo Chicago (2012). After he participated in a group show at Galerie Peter Kilchmann in Zurich in the spring of 2022, McFarlane’s first solo exhibition in Europe will take place in our Paris gallery space located at 11-13, Rue des Arquebusiers, opening on March 14, 2024. 
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