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Join IAMA in our Sip Art Gallery as we introduce our new Sip Art Exhibition, “Return” by Brian McPartlon!

At this event, Brian McPartlon will delve deeper into his selected works for Return, sharing insights into his inspirations, and the motivations behind his masterpieces. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with the artist, who will be joining us in person to present and talk about his artworks.

Refreshments and light bites will be provided for all attendees.

Brian McPartlon, Return

“For many years after leaving San Francisco, I traveled from my newly adopted home of Santa Fe, New Mexico to run in “Bay to Breakers,” the city’s annual footrace. Going up and over the hills and ending at the beach represented not just a race well run, but a victory joyfully given to me by the city I loved that loved me back.

Runners speak of the “runners high.” RETURN is my runner’s high that comes from the years of going up and over the metaphorical hills of my precious studio life. The life of an artist well lived. These paintings are an homage to some of the scholars, maestros, poets and artists I knew during my exhilarating time with the San Francisco Art Institute. This is my retroactive gift to the 1970s burgeoning South of Market art scene. To me, this body of work signifies victory, a race well run.

My gracious thanks to the IAMA for marking the finish line.”

—Brian McPartlon

Since his first exhibition, as a teen, at the Oak Room Gallery in 1965 in Schenectady, New York, Brian McPartlon has honed his skills with acrylics, watercolor, oils, pastels and mixed media sculpture. In 1973, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. In 1975, he founded and directed the 63 Bluxome Street Gallery in San Francisco, California.

McPartlon’s technique seeks to present true depth of field through layers of shapes and colors. His process includes staining, pouring and spraying, and a diverse set of brushes from a traditional 6” house painting brush to palm fronds, cacti, animal bone fragments and his fingers. A single painting may take him ten minutes or over 40 years to complete. The large bold canvases can be ominous, antagonizing, invigorating and breathtaking

The range of colors and depth of each of McPartlon’s works evoke powerful reactions from viewers. Observers of his works struggle to not touch the textures or crawl into the portals that exist in the layers of his paintings.

About the Artist:

Brian McPartlon attended New York’s School of Visual Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute. He was involved with San Francisco 1970s South of Market art scene as gallery director of 63 Bluxome. He has run a successful roofing business in Santa Fe, New Mexico for decades.

Exhibitions (recent and upcoming): Pie Projects, Santa Fe; CINQ Gallery, Dallas; and the International Art Museum of America, San Francisco. Press: ART UP MI; LandEscape Art Review; Magazine 43; MVIBE; Modern Renaissance; Unique Homes; Southwest Contemporary; Another Chicago Magazine; Superpresent Magazine; Blue Mesa Review; The Uncoiled; Arkana; and Santa Fe New Mexican.

Website: https://www.brianmcpartlonstudio.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianmcpartlonstudio/