Seán Shanahan, born in Dublin in 1960, is an accomplished Irish artist known for his innovative approach to painting. He studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Chelsea, London, and Croydon College of Art and Design, focusing on painting and art history. At just 22, he relocated to Milan, where he held his first solo exhibition at Luigi De Ambrogi’s gallery.
In 1986, Shanahan received a scholarship to the Fundación Olivar de Castillejo in Madrid, and from 1986 to 1990, he divided his time between Cologne and New York. His artistic practice emphasizes form and color over narrative, exploring still life as a medium to capture moments of stillness that encapsulate gestures, emotions, and actions. This exploration led him to deeply reflect on color and its interaction with wooden surfaces.
In 1990, Shanahan moved to Italy, making a pivotal shift from acrylics to oils, allowing for greater fluidity and transparency in his work. His 1994 exhibition at the Orchard Gallery in Derry featured "Untitled," an oil on MDF that showcased the visible layers and reworkings of color, highlighting his artistic process. This marked a transition toward monochrome paintings, where he embraced MDF as a support, taking advantage of its ability to absorb color while emphasizing the physicality of the works.
In 1997, he established a studio in Montevecchia and began focusing on single-color applications and simple, tapered forms that evoke three-dimensionality. His work gained attention from notable collector Giuseppe Panza di Biumo, who began collecting Shanahan's pieces in 2000.
Shanahan has participated in significant group exhibitions, including "State of Mind: Minimal Art" at the Lucca Center of Contemporary Art in 2010 and "La percezione del Futuro: The Panza Collection" at the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in 2015. His solo exhibitions, such as "Sudden Time" at Villa Panza in 2021 and "Singular Episodic" at the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Lissone in 2020, further showcase his evolving artistic vision.
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