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Brian Kielt: Confessional
5th March to 10th April 2020

Brian Kielt is a painter based in mid-Ulster who makes work about memory, trauma and anxiety. Titled Confessional, this solo exhibition features portraits and landscapes which combine found and original imagery. The shifting perspectives of these paintings prompts the viewer to – physically – take a position on these events, as we alter our stance to understand everything we are seeing and what it is trying to tell us. 

Drawing on historical documents – particularly those from events of national and international shame such as genocide, war and famine – can teach us how to understand ourselves. Kielt weaves figures, objects and landscapes from these pictures into a painted tapestry alongside personal archive material: images of figures, objects and landscapes from his own life. 

The paintings in this exhibition particularly focus on human and animal nature. In the process of painting, Kielt is posing questions about how viewers of his work will respond to binaries such as victim and perpetrator, innocence and malice, and behaviour that is motivated by self-interest and/or survival. These ideas translate into areas of light and shade in the paintings, as well as a colour palette which is much more subtle and soft than previously – as if to imply grey areas which are much more nuanced. In one work we glimpse a subject expressing relief: possibly due to freedom, escape, or a sense of luck, though the muscles which control these expressions are the same as those which are used to convey pain. 

About Atypical Gallery:

Showcasing artwork by disabled and deaf artists since 1993, Atypical Gallery is the only permanent exhibition space on the island of Ireland dedicated specifically to highlighting the work of disabled and D/deaf artists.

Atypical Gallery provides a welcoming, accessible environment for both emerging and established artists practising across the visual arts spectrum.  As well as providing an exciting and challenging programme of visual arts exhibitions, the gallery also serves as a forum for the education and discussion of disability-led art and culture.

Beginning in 2018, Atypical Gallery will host a series of talks, screenings, readings and events around disability art, contemporary practice, socially engaged and participatory art, and disability-led art and curation. Our aim is to broaden public perceptions of disabled and D/deaf art practice, to champion excellence in visual arts practice, and to support and encourage the professional development and acceptance of disabled and D/deaf artists in Northern Ireland.