Allen Egan

BIOGRAPHY: 

Born in 1962, in the town of Kadoma, Zimbabwe(Rhondesia) Allen Egan began painting at the early age of 16, having been greatly impacted by the Landscape Impressionist Movements. A few years later in 1981 Allen began studies in Graphic Design at the Harare Polytechnic College. After graduating in 1982, Allen began working in the print and graphic design industry, where he stayed until 1989. By then he emigrated to South Africa and started a printing and manufacturing business. During this time, the allure of dedicating his time to exhibiting his work exclusively was beginning to flourish, he started by painting portraiture art of african people in a rural settlings and at the end of his 11 year stint in South Africa he chanced on meeting his future wife from Canada. Year 2000, Allen Emigrates yet again to Canada, settling in Gatineau, Quebec. He still continued to create his portrait art, travelling back and forth between South Africa and Canada for exhibitions and referential photographs for his work. Gradually Allen has seen his work change, delving into the genres of landscape and surrealist art. Which has awakened new and old passions for him to explore.

artistic approach: 

I am a figurative painter rather, and cannot imagine a painting without a figure in it. However the figure to my mind must occupy or be part of a space or an environment. The completed painting needs to be a short story or part of a story in which something imminent is about to happen or has happened. It is this sense of unpredictability that I try to capture in all of my works. I use props and unusual environments to set the stage and set the figure at odds within this space.

The final summary of the contents of the painting is up to the viewer. It is my habit to avoid paintings that are layered with political meaning but rather to make paintings that are impulsive and spontaneous. I gather together several images to combine them as a painting. Ultimately they are like a single frame in a movie. One does not know what came before and likewise one does not know what the outcome may be. They are short stories. There is no intent to manufacture a recognisable story, rather an opportunity for the viewer to decide for themselves what it all means. They impose their own stories and all opinions are many and varied.

Although I am not an illustrator I recognise with appreciation the virtuoso skill, freedom and overwhelming variety of imagery that illustrators create. Researching illustrative works over many years has inspired in me ways in which to bring that virtuosity into my work.