Chisholm Gallery

Brassington, Alan

Irish Contemporary

Alan Brassington was born in Rhodesia in 1959, but returned with his family to their native Ireland in 1964. He studied at the Northwich School of Art, Cheshire and Stockport School of Art. Throughout the ’80s Alan worked on North Sea oil rigs as a roustabout and later as derrickman before returning to his natural passion for art and painting.

The colourful panorama of the turf, with its intrinsic drama and excitement, has proved a powerful magnetism to Alan: “I love painting horses and people. The racetrack is irresistible, it is an entire world of its own. If you see a special horse in the parade ring it is easy to understand why one would be so inspired by this animal with its grace, its beauty, its intelligence and its strength.”

Alan currently resides in the Gloucestershire countryside with his wife and two children.

A few kind words:

Alan Brassington has been exhibiting in London and New York since 1992. During that time it has been interesting to watch his work develop. I am sure that for the increasingly wide circle of admirers this will be a show to be studied carefully and to be enjoyed; a show definitely not to be missed.
– The Duke of Devonshire CBE

I went to visit Alan in his studio/ house and was most taken by a very large painting of Alan’s that greets you in the dining room. The canvas is a portrait of a young man and his greyhound. They are set into a background of a large baronial hall with steps and columns. It was breathtakingly beautiful: painted with such detail and clarity that it was impossible to see the brushwork. Alan had handmade the frame from old oak floorboards and seeing it for the first time, you were transported back to the era when artists were artists and not just painter-celebrities. This painting, like most of his work, is about dedication to art. Not only detail but a sense of warmth and complete understanding of the subject he has taken on.
– Terry Danziger-Miles Director of Timothy Taylor Gallery. London