Clare artist flies the flag alone in Florence

Among the artists showing work at the eighth annual Florence Biennale festival in Italy this month was Newmarket-on-Fergus painter Philip Brennan.
Founded in 1997, the Florence Biennale featured 600 artists from over 70 countries showing some 1,800 works and ran from December 1 to 12.
The large exhibit came about at a time in the late-1990s when contemporary art was at a crossroads. Around that time, in the old Florence, something new was stirring when a committee of Italian artists and curators proposed a biennial where talented and recognised artists could exhibit their latest work.
The artists would decide the way of exhibiting their work. The risks were enormous, as there had never been a show on this scale with a direct connection between artists’ studios and the exhibition walls.
In 1997, with hardly any publicity, 317 artists from 17 different countries took part but this rose exponentially and in 2003 the fourth Florence Biennale had grown into the world’s most comprehensive exhibition of contemporary art, showing more than 800 artists from 70 different countries. The Biennale believes in promoting respect and tolerance among the world’s artists.
This year, Brennan was the only Irish artist to exhibit and having recently returned from the event he explained what he gained from the experience.
“Artists are continually faced with the twin problems of trying to produce good, new work while at the same time trying to find markets for their work. Naturally then, to be invited to show at an art festival or gallery is always a great boost. When I was invited to show my paintings at the Florence Biennale festival I jumped at the opportunity, once I’d done a good bit of internet research on the festival and had a word with a few previous participants,” Philip admits.
He was fascinated by the diverse range of mediums, styles and techniques on show and indeed the sheer quantity of art and artists in one area was also a wonder.
“Even on the last day I was finding something new. Best of all for me was the opportunity to meet so many other artists from so many countries showing so much diverse work. Producing one’s art is a solitary business, quite anti-social. So to meet so many in the same position was marvellous. Naturally, the many conversations led to much exchange of ideas, both on the art and the ways to get one’s work out there and sold,” he explained.
Philip was also awed to be given the chance to exhibit in the home of Leonardo Da Vinci and described this as an honour.
“I’d always intended to go there and I wasn’t disappointed. Normally, I don’t much care for cities but this was the exception and I intend to get back to Florence again very soon. Now it’s back to work. I’m working on three exhibitions. One joint exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon next August, one in Ennis, also in 2012 and one in Wales in 2013,” he concluded.