Brian McPartlon (b. 1948, Schenectady, New York) is an abstract painter whose career spans over six decades of relentless experimentation. Known for his "large, bold canvases" that often reach proportions of eight by six feet, McPartlon’s work is defined by an immense physical presence and a technique designed to envelop the viewer in a visceral experience of color and light.
McPartlon’s artistic foundation was forged in the 1960s at New York’s School of Visual Arts, where he immersed himself in the city’s counterculture and activist circles. This spirit of boundary-pushing followed him to the West Coast, where he earned his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1973. As part of the burgeoning SoMa art scene, he founded the 63 Bluxome Street Gallery in 1975, an alternative space that served as a catalyst for the local cultural landscape. During this era, he also honed his sense of scale and construction as an art director and property master for various films, building expansive movie sets that informed his later approach to the canvas.
Now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, McPartlon’s practice is characterized by a "no-constraints" philosophy. His process is physical, often exhaustive labor involving staining, pouring, and spraying. He utilizes a diverse arsenal of tools, ranging from a detail brush to a household mop, to forge layers of color onto the canvas. Whether a piece takes ten minutes or forty years to complete, the result is a portal of texture and depth that invites the observer to lose themselves in the work.
Today, McPartlon continues to paint every day, bridging his avant-garde roots with a profound, large-scale reverence for the natural world and the enduring power of abstraction.
Recent and upcoming exhibits include International Art Museum of America, San Francisco, CA (solo); Taos Abstract Artist Collective (TAAC), Taos New Mexico, Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha, WI; Pie Projects, Santa Fe, NM; and CINQ Gallery, Dallas, TX.
Recent press includes LandEscape Art Review, London, UK; Magazine 43/Berlin, Hong Kong, Manila; ART UP MI, Milan; Southwest Contemporary; Artwork Gallery Magazine, Kyiv, UKR; MVIBE Magazine, Athens; SilkRoad Review; Gemini Magazine; Modern Renaissance Magazine; The Woven Tale Press; New Mexico Bar Bulletin (cover); Unique Homes/The High End; Forget Me Not Press; Superpresent Magazine; Blue Mesa Review; Pasatiempo/Santa Fe New Mexican; Another Chicago Magazine; Arkana Literary Review; Dream Noir; and The Uncoiled.
He is represented by Pie Projects, Santa Fe, NM; CINQ Gallery, Dallas, TX; and Fresh Paint Art Consultants, Los Angeles, CA.
On exhibit at Sahara West Library from May 15, 2026 through August 1, 2026
Gallery reception on Thursday, May 21, 2026 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Tuesday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Wednesday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Thursday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Friday: 10:00AM – 6:00PM
Saturday: 10:00AM – 6:00PM
Sunday: 10:00AM – 6:00PM
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