Aisling Drennan
Expressive abstract floral paintings exploring colour, movement and the interplay between form, texture and space.
Aisling Drennan approaches the traditional floral still life with a wonderfully fresh and instinctive sensibility. Her paintings sit somewhere between abstraction and representation, where familiar forms are broken apart and reassembled through layers of colour, gestural marks and richly worked surfaces.
There is a particular confidence in the way she balances structure with spontaneity. Bold passages of paint sit alongside delicate, almost tentative lines, while subtle shifts in colour create a sense of movement and depth. What I find especially engaging is how her compositions retain the suggestion of flowers and interior spaces without ever feeling confined by them. They are playful, sophisticated paintings that reward a closer look.
Available Work
Aisling Drennan is a contemporary abstract painter and Master of Fine Art graduate from Central Saint Martins, UAL.
Drennan’s paintings have recently been exhibited in the annual exhibitions of both the Royal Ulster Academy and the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art.
Her work has gained recognition across a number of prestigious platforms, including an Arts Bursary from the Women’s Irish Network in partnership with the UK Irish Embassy. She has exhibited in prominent venues such as The Shard, Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at the Savoy Hotel, and London’s Central Hall Museum.
Drennan completed a residency at the Cill Rialaig Artists Centre, was shortlisted for the renowned John Moores Painting Prize, and was featured as a campaign artist for Fujitsu’s global platform. Earlier in her career, Drennan received the Freyer Award for Excellence in Contemporary Painting from the Royal Dublin Society of Arts.
Her practice is informed by the gestural energy of American Abstract Expressionism and her background as a professional Irish dancer with Riverdance.
Artist Statement
The intention behind Drennan’s current series of floral paintings was to challenge traditional representations, moving away from the typical “pretty flowers in a vase” composition.
The aim was to create paintings that intrigue, blurring the boundaries of floral shapes while hinting at the essence of an interior space.
By scratching away paint and adding coloured pencils and oil pastels, each painting develops its own sense of texture, depth and complexity.
Building up and revealing different surfaces encourages viewers to look beyond the surface and discover finer details within the work.
Interested in available works or commissions?
oil paint and oil bar on canvas
90 x 60cm
framed
by Aisling Drennan