CONOR MCCREEDY

Provenance: Artist's studio.

The multiple nuances of the ocean form the starting point for Connor McCreedy’s monochrome compositions in blue. The artist, born in 1987 in South Africa, is fascinated by the emotional expressive power which formerly even Picasso and Yves Klein recognised in the colour blue. Connor McCreedy counts both artists as important models, but has developed his entirely personal artistic style, based on a combination of five colour components created for himself and known as McCreedyblue. This is delivered with a distinctive and expressive brush stroke, which predominates in both his figurative as well as his abstract painting.

Probably his best-known series of works to date are those known as the “Splash Paintings”, to which the diptych presented here “Blue and white splash” also belongs. As the name reveals, these paintings are characterised by the dynamic splash, which heightens the expressive quality of the blue composition. The word also has further associations of success, as in the expression “to make a big splash”. The “Splash Paintings” might also be a subtle reference to Conor McCreedy’s international breakthrough, which came about through his legendary exhibition “Outliers” (2010) at the National Arts Club in New York. The then 23-year-old artist was the youngest artist to have been granted an exhibition by the club. The show, which was completely sold out, turned him into a sensation on the contemporary art scene.

Nowadays, the artist, based in Zurich, exhibits his large format works in the major cities of Hong Kong, Moscow, Johannesburg and New York. Although he has by now also become active as an entrepreneur in the field of high-end design furniture, his core passion is still painting, which gives him a feeling of freedom.

Furthermore, Connor McCreedy is a dedicated philanthropist. As initiator and founder of the PAL Foundation (“Protecting African Lions”) he regularly puts the proceeds from the sale of his works into wildlife conservation, as well as other charitable ends.