Stephen McKenna (artist) explained

Stephen McKenna
Birth Date:20 March 1939
Birth Place:Ashford, Middlesex, England, U.K.
Death Place:County Carlow, Ireland
Other Names:SMCK
Occupation:Visual artist
Notable Works:Tate, British Council, Imperial War Museum

Stephen McKenna (sometimes signed as SMCK) (20 March 1939 – 4 May 2017) was a British-born visual artist known for his postmodern figurative paintings. He was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1986. His works can be seen in the collections of the Tate Galleries,[1] the British Council,[2] the Imperial War Museum, London,[3] and has been shown at various galleries including the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin[4] and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy.[5] [6]

Life

McKenna was born in London, he studied there at Slade School of Art (affiliated to the University College London). In 1973 he moved to Donegal, Ireland. He also lived in Belgium, Germany, and Italy. He was a guest professor at Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig (Brunswick, Germany) from 1995 to 1996.[7] In 1997 he curated the exhibition The Pursuit of Painting at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. He became an associate member of the RHA in 2001 and a full member in 2002 and was the president of this association from 2005 till 2009.

He died in his home in County Carlow on 4 May 2017.[8]

Notable works

O, Ilium! (1982) is an example of postmodern pastiche, combining imagery from classical art and sculpture, Max Ernst, Constantin Brâncuși, and archaic Greek pottery. According to an Ingeborg Hoesterey, it throws together images from the cultural memory of western civilisation, showing them to constitute only a "wasteland".[9]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions of his work include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stephen McKenna. Tate. 28 January 2014.
  2. Web site: Stephen McKenna. British Council. 28 January 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140203033512/http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/artist/artist/30783/18452. 3 February 2014. dmy-all.
  3. Web site: City of Derry I by Stephen McKenna. Art UK. 28 January 2014.
  4. News: Leach. Cristin. Art: Stephen McKenna. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202114238/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/article149182.ece. dead. 2 February 2014. 28 January 2014. Sunday Times. 25 September 2005.
  5. Web site: Stephen McKenna PPRHA. https://web.archive.org/web/20140203024945/http://www.rhagallery.ie/about/members/academy-member-9/. dead. 3 February 2014. Royal Hibernian Academy. 28 January 2014.
  6. Web site: Stephen McKenna. Kerlin Gallery. 28 January 2014.
  7. Web site: Stephen McKenna. Irish Arts Council. 28 January 2014.
  8. News: Painter Stephen McKenna dies at home in Co Carlow. Dunne. Aidan. 5 May 2017. The Irish Times. 14 May 2017.
  9. Book: Hoesterey, Ingeborg. Pastiche: Cultural Memory in Art, Film, Literature. 2001. Indiana University Press. 19–21. registration. Stephen McKenna artist..