Portrait of Delphine Hennelly, courtesy of the artist.
Delphine Hennelly’s work addresses the human condition and prescribed gender roles through her use of pattern, repetition, and uncanny colour palettes. Reminiscent of silk ribbons or powdery tufted up- holstery, Hennelly’s paintings extend her longstanding interest in color as a way to create atmosphere and mood. Whether suggestive of foggy full-moon nights or drizzly afternoons with storm clouds on the horizon, the color palettes of her works reflect moments in time that are neither turbulent nor fully calm. Her work is particularly inspired by tapestries, art history, and early modernism, which she references through motifs, compositional structures and gestures. Some of Hennelly’s figures are modelled after the ones in popular eighteenth-century “boudoir paintings,” whose sensual qualities Hennelly amplifies.
Delphine Hennelly is a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation award, and her work has been exhibited in the United States, Europe, and Canada. In 2022, Hennelly participated in a residency at Palazzo Monti (Brescia).
