Scully was born in Dublin in 1945 and grew up in the south of London, where his family moved in 1949. He is known for rich, painterly abstractions in which stripes or blocks of layered color are a prevailing motif. The delineated geometry of his work, achieved through the use of repetitive forms such as squares, rectangles, and bands, provides structure for an expressive, physical rendering of color, light, and texture. Though these abstract compositions are not conventional landscapes, his sense of shape and light appeals to a universal understanding and is influenced by the three places he knows best: Ireland, his birthplace and homeland; north London, where he grew up; and New York, where today he mainly lives and works. The stripe has been central to Scully’s work over the course of his career. The artist has transformed the motif of the stripe into an expressive art form, employing colour contrasts and juxtapositions, that creates diverse and emotive compositions with a powerful physical presence. The architectonic structure of Scully’s work derived from twentieth-century artist Mondrian, however, from the beginning of his career, Scully was interested in the work of the Abstract Expressionists, particularly Mark Rothko. Like the Russian artist, Scully’s colour combinations are emotionally charged and illustrate the innate spirituality that is present throughout Scully’s oeuvre.

Sean Scully

Since the 1960s, Sean Scully has made abstract canvases that feature stripes, blocks, and grids painted in rich, evocative hues.

Sean Scully has always demonstrated a great commitment to abstraction, his paintings and works on paper incorporate a geometric structure with a soft and irregular application of pigment.

Scully’s compositions often include stripes, grids, and the artist usually uses dark, earthy tones. This combination of structured composition with the idiosyncrasies of the chosen medium is typical of Scully’s work, this duality has been described by the artist as a “battle between system and emotion.”

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“ Painting is profoundly emotional. When I finish a painting, I'm usually extremely sad. „

—Sean Scully