Art and Design / April 4, 2023

Seán Atmos debuts solo show at S16 Gallery

Art and Design / April 4, 2023

Seán Atmos debuts solo show at S16 Gallery

Words: Aoife Ní Bheirn

Taking place from April 15 to May 2, the 25-year-old’s debut show comes from the success of exhibiting works with S16 gallery at Art Basel MIAMI back in December 2022 alongside artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey. 

Irish artist Seán Atmos invites the viewer to experience a new body of work displayed at the S16 Gallery, Montreal in which he re-contextualises the use of typographic forms through compositional changes, light and colour all informed by his three-dimensional artwork. 

In this exhibition, Seán has used three-dimensional letterforms as tools for change in aesthetic form or appearance.

Seán credits his upbringing painting graffiti for his artistic practice as opposed to formal academic training. Having established himself within the Irish graffiti scene at a young age, Sean later found himself drawn to the appearance and arrangement of typographic design.

Speaking on the show, Sean connects the dots between his process in and outside of the studio, painting graffiti and the development of his contemporary artwork: “Making this body of work was a challenging labour of love. It starts with a digital render, usually with a grid system in place, where I chop, change and play with typographic forms.”

“I then send those vector forms to a Computer controlled cutting router where they are turned into physical woodcut shapes. Once they are sanded and sealed, I start to analyse the relationship between them in aesthetic form or appearance. After painting them they are mounted to a panel and protected from UV rays with an Ultraviolet varnish.”

“The process behind these sculptural works then inform my hand-painted canvas pieces. There’s a lot of similarities between this work and my graffiti, although not necessarily in appearance. The layering up of elements based on a grid is something I really enjoy and always employ in both my graffiti and in the studio. I’m excited to share this exhibition, and hopefully get more eyes on the development of this work for my next solo here in Dublin.”

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