Rhea O'Neill's Page

Hello Everyone.

A quick introduction about myself-

I graduated with my BA in Painting from Reading University, UK, in 2006 and went on to do a residency at Leighton Park School (also in Reading) for the following year. I then continued on the Wimbledon college of Art (University of the Arts London) and graduated with my MA in 2008. I recently moved to Santa Cruz, California, to be with my husband and am trying to find my feet in an art community that I yet to have any connections in. I hope to show in San Fransisco in the future.

website- www.rheaoneill.com

Artists Statement.

With these works, I embrace my sentimentality without letting it rule.  The lush surroundings within are always underpinned by repression and segregation. This perfection is sickly sweet, as unobtainable as a dream. I have begun producing a new series of paintings titled Red Men. Inspired by the images of uncontacted primitive tribes still existing in South America, the series aims to highlight the growing divide between our civilization and our perceived roots. These roots are connected though stories, myths and modern science, creating a confusing jumble of messages. A utopian dream for a simple life that can only be achieved through the expense of others, conflicts with a perceived catastrophic long term outcome our way of life may produce. All this collides to create a chaotic vision of over lapping agendas with the over arching knowledge that the world has its own history and we are just one part among many.