A CAHERCONLISH native will see two of his art pieces being auctioned in Brussels, Belgium.

The painter Ian Brennan, who explores stories told by bodies, will see two of his nude pieces being auctioned at Bonham’s Cornette de Saint Cyr in Brussels, as part of ‘The Male Form’ sales.

His paintings titled The Recliner (2022) and Hold Your Own (2023) will be the ones auctioned. 

The pieces will be relating to the male gaze – but Ian’s approach is far from being traditional.

“I think mine might be slightly different in terms of some of the traditional artists that might be going under the hammer in. For me, the male gaze doesn’t come through my eyes. It comes through a somatic experience and a holistic experience in terms of not just seeing what’s physically in front of me, but what’s on the inside. So, there’s an extra layer of energy about the pieces,” said Ian.

When he meets his sitters, Ian engages in an intimate process. 

Speaking of his creative process, he said: “There’s interaction from the very beginning and transparency, trust and also boundaries. It’s very important for me as a person to establish boundaries in terms of physical intimacy and emotional intimacy.”

“If at any stage I get too close in terms of shooting a photograph, the other person has the power to tell me and we can adjust. It’s very intimate work and it comes with its own complexity.”

About 18 months ago, Ian stopped signing his paintings after being told his work was “strong enough to hold itself”. Upon seeing his paintings, people would recognise them without a signature. 

Hailed by critics as an emerging artist, Ian has been exhibited twice at the London Art Biennale. Originally from Caherconlish, the painter has recently moved to Margate, in England – where he has found a haven among other artists. 

“I’ve just taken the biggest leap of faith in that I left Ireland, and I’m now living in Margate in the UK. I’m surrounding myself with loads of actors and there’s a big movement happening in Margate at the moment because of Tracey Emin having set up her studios and her residency here.  So it’s quite easy to feed off of that energy and be around other hard-working people and take their work very seriously,” Ian said. 

Even though he only has been in Margate for three months, Ian has found a sense of community – and a grittiness that reminds him of his native Limerick. 

“It’s really lovely, I feel that sense of community here. You’ve got all the tourists coming every weekend, so it’s really busy. And then you have the quietness during the week. It’s lovely to be able to go for a walk on the beach on the way home and see the skies unfold in front of you. There’s a grittiness to here, it actually is a little bit similar to Limerick in that way.  I can connect with that having grown up in Limerick until I was 18, people have a dirty sense of humour too and there’s really good banter,” he said.