Born and raised in Sydney, Brooklyn Whelan is one of Australia’s leading contemporary visual artists. Working primarily with acrylics and oils on canvas, his style is heavily influenced by weather patterns and futurism. His work has been described as somewhere in between abstract and realism, ethereal, minimal and modern.

"As a painter, I work to develop paintings that speak about the beauty and power that exists within weather patterns. I constantly find myself staring into oncoming storms. I do not merely want to capture the image with my painting; rather, with strong bold strokes, I want to give it life and energy, also the sense of fiction and fantasy that one might see in an 80’s sci fi - Powerful electricity, but with a tone of grace, softness and movement."

Whelan has also collaborated with some of the worlds biggest brands including Adidas, Samsung, Universal Records and Chivas Regal among many others. He recently created an original typeface for Justin Bieber's single "Mark My Words" and was the first artist in residence with Australia's biggest music and arts festival, Splendour in the Grass.

‘Pressure’ London, March 2019

One of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Whelan totally reinvents the landscape genre with his futuristic, vibrant and oh-so-cool skyscapes. It seems apt that these sublime and wandering cloud scenes should be originated in Australia with its endless horizons and vast open skies, although Whelan imagines his sky scenes, plucking storms and swirling clouds from his minds eye. Having collaborated with some of the worlds biggest brands, such as Adidas, Samsung and Universal Records, Whelan is no small fish. His masterful depictions retain all the grace and lightness of real skyscapes, but it is the inherent masculinity and electricity that Whelan imbues his pieces with that sets them apart from other contemporary works.

‘Strike Now, Riot Later’ Sydney, July 2018

Echoes of Brooklyn Whelan’s earlier incarnation as a street artist can be found in his new solo show, Strike Now, Riot Later. He demonstrates an understanding of the structural flow and sweeping rhythm of street art as, in some works, the clouds float from one canvas to the next. A delicate balance between street and gallery, the paintings drift along an ephemeral line between abstract and real, gestural mark making and meticulous rendering, stylistic boldness and nuanced composition. But under all of that, there is a hint of something more. Pareidolia – that instinct we have to see significant forms where none exist – kicks in. A hidden message emerges and shapes appear before fading back into the cloudscape.

These are works of a reduced palette, but containing unexpected flashes of colour – they’re so thoughtfully considered that there is both a richness and a subtlety to them, a sense of both instinctual harmony and muted beauty.

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