Fintan Magee
Fintan Magee is a Sydney based social realist painter, specializing in large-scale murals. Drawing from personal experience and the mundane, his figurative paintings are deeply integrated with the urban environment and explore themes of diversity, migration and transition, waste and consumption, loss, and the environment. His works exude an inherent sentimentality and softness influenced by children’s books and the Lowbrow art movement. His practice is informed by a profound interest in political murals, inspired by early exposure to street art in conflict ridden Northern Ireland. This is reflected in the socialist nature of his public artworks, which combine journalistic elements with public art. Magee’s work is driven by his recognition of the power of murals to communicate political and social viewpoints and thus divide or unite communities. In recent years, Magee has solidified his position as one of Australia’s leading public artists and has traveled extensively, completing projects in countries across the world, including Belarus, India, Jordan, Spain, Tahiti, USA. His recent solo exhibitions are ‘Big Dry’ at Think Space in Los Angeles (2018), ‘Waves’ at Mathgoth Gallery in Paris (2017) and ‘Water World’ at Backwoods Gallery in Melbourne (2016). Magee has been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Juxtapoz Magazine, ABC News, The Australian, The Urban Contemporary Art Guide (2014, 2015), Street Art Australia (Lou Chamberlain), Graffiti Art (FR) Home & Design: Trends Magazine, Surface (Soren Solker) (DK), among others.