Bryan Charnley: Art and Adversity

Bryan Charnley: Art and Adversity by James Charnley

The life, work and significance of the artist Bryan Charnley is traced by his twin brother James in this finely-produced biography. Dozens of Charnley's artworks, including those held in the Wellcome Collection, Bethlem Museum of the Mind, and private collections across the country, are reproduced here, many for the first time.

Bryan Charnley: Art and Adversity combines biography and monograph. The painter's life defined his art, his art defined his life. James Charnley was witness to the adversities experienced by his twin and the evolution of his art. His book surveys the artist's childhood, adolescence and the madness that was to afflict his life and found consummate expression in the paintings. Augmented by interviews, journals, medical records, letters and diaries this book provides an informed and fascinating study of a turbulent life and the art this inspired. Bryan Charnley was a gifted artist who applied his painterly skills to describe the invisible: mental anguish is largely internalised. The works he created use metaphorical imagery to describe existential dilemmas. It was by such devices the artist intended to restore painting to its inceptive purpose and conviction. Bryan Charnley: Art and Adversity presents his paintings with all their colour, intensity and eloquence.

Cover image: Tree of Life, Bryan Charnley, Wellcome Collection

Find out more about Bryan Charnley here.

Paperback, i2i Publishing, 2018
218 pages, 24.5x21.2mm
ISBN: 9781999912994