Fran O'Neill, A Certain Kind of Light

New York, NY – Sears-Peyton Gallery is pleased to present "A Certain Kind of Light", Fran O'Neill's second solo exhibition. The six sweeping paintings, all made in the past year, represent an evolution of O'Neill's oeuvre. Since her last exhibition at the gallery, O'Neill has relocated from New York City to her home country of Australia and lives a drastically different life in a rural town in Northeast Victoria.

Her process, which involves using her whole body, has always yielded energetic work. "soft magic", the grandest scale in the exhibition at 72 x 72 inches, presents the viewer with the quietest palette. While echoing the soft ripples of a waterfall or stream, "soft magic" also provides a space for reflection. Like the new chapter in O'Neill's life, the painting's subtle chartreuse, lavender, and stone hues reflect a stillness, a slowing down, and an appreciation for the power of restraint. In contrast, a smaller canvas entitled "wild card" evokes a richness and density only achieved through the time and space spent with each layer, a necessary patience, and belief in the final expression of the work.

Fran O'Neill : "A Certain Kind of Light" is on view from March 7 - April 6, 2024. An opening reception for the artist will take place on Thursday, March 7th from 5-7PM. Exhibition hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-5pm and Saturday from 12pm-5pm. For more information or to request further images or information, please contact the gallery at info@searspeyton.com.

Fran O'Neill attended Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, earning a BFA and Post Graduate Degree. Her post-graduate work continued at the New York Studio School's Certificate Program, and her MFA was completed at Brooklyn College in 2012. In 2007, she received a Joan Mitchell Foundation award. O’Neill’s solo exhibitions include at David Schweitzer Contemporary, Bushwick, NY; Hathaway Contemporary, Atlanta, GA and Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; BMG Gallery, Adelaide, Australia; TW Fine Art, Brisbane, Australia; Life on Mars Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, John Davis Gallery, NY; New York Studio School, NY; and Sussex College, Hastings, UK. In 2016 her work was exhibited at MOCA in Jacksonville, FL in a group exhibition titled Confronting the Canvas: Women of Abstraction. O’Neill’s work has been included in various group shows through out the USA and in Australia. She has recently taught at the New York Studio School, Arts Students League and Pratt Institute. Her work resides in private collections in the USA, Australia and UK, and in the permanent collection of MOCA Jacksonville, FL.