You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
– R. Buckminster Fuller

The series of paintings included in this exhibition comes together under the working title “Existing Realities”. Its inspiration draws on an attempt to comment on two aspects of the human experience. The first of these is the function work plays in our everyday lives: people are busier than ever, trying to make more and more money, but does this lead to happiness day-today? The second relates to the prevalance of digital technology. We are more connected than ever with social media, but this also creates social isolation. There is less human interaction on a daily basis, yet our lives have never been under more scrutiny from outside sources.

The uncertainty, strangeness and banal nature of these aspects of everyday life is portrayed in Breen’s work through pictorial sources found in old books and photographs. These lend his paintings an aura of nostalgia while ensuring that they remain relatable, retaining their relationship with our contemporary experience.

Born in Cork, Diarmuid Breen graduated from DIT with a BA in Visual Art through the college’s Sherkin Island programme in 2012. He has since exhibited his paintings regularly in West Cork in group and solo exhibitons at the Blue House Gallery, Schull; Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen; Éigse Carlow Arts Festival, VISUAL, Carlow (2015); and the 186 th RHA Annual Exhibition (2016). He lives and works in Cork, and Existing Realities is his first solo exhibition with Taylor Galleries.