Brian O'Connor (March 2, 1958 – August 15, 2022) was an American visual artist who worked in a

surrealistic Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

style. He lived and collaborated with his wife, Iva, in the small town of Veguita, New Mexico. The documentary film, ''Painting Grey,'' was made about his work and life.

Early life and education

O'Connor was born on March 2, 1958, to Mikey and John O'Connor, in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, where he was also raised. He attended college in the late 1970s at the Centro Andino in Quito, Ecuador, where he first became interested in art. In 1983 he received a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

Career

O'Connor's paintings have been described as

socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

narratives. His work renders figurative subjects within enigmatic situations. O'Connor has described his work as "the beautiful mess" of "grappling with the world" and attempting to make sense of it. The art writer, Diane Armitage wrote of O'Connor's work, “O’Connor is a gifted realist painter whose increasingly dark vision continues to expand as he adds to his narrative of millennial observations...what O’Connor does in his work is pose questions about our complicity with the forces of degradation that seem to increasingly govern our fate.” He has exhibited his work nationally in museums and galleries including the Albuquerque Museum, the Harwood Museum, the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Riverside Museum of Art among other venues.

Honors and awards

From 1985 through 1987, O'Connor received several grants from the New Mexico Artist in Residence Program to work in various sites. In 1990, he received a joint fellowship from the Western States Arts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Collections

O'Connor's works are held in the permanent collection of the

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico, United States. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located one bloc ...

. His painting, ''93 Million Miles,'' was held in the Bernalillo County public art collection from which it was stolen and never recovered.

Documentary film

In 2020, a documentary film, ''Painting Grey,'' by Ann Bromberg, was made about O'Connor's work, and how posterior cortical atrophy, a progressive brain disorder, has affected his artistic practice and daily life.

Personal life and death

O'Connor was married to the painter Iva Morris. They had two children. He died on August 15, 2022, at the age of 64.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Brian 1958 births 2022 deaths Artists from Albuquerque, New Mexico 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists 20th-century American painters University of New Mexico alumni 21st-century American painters Painters from New Mexico