Abstract Vitalist; Bunny Hennessey
Her compositions nod subtly to nature with organic forms, yet her palette bursts with vibrant, electric colors that feel undeniably contemporary.
What keeps one curious and engaged when discovering new art is the sensation of losing oneself in a painting. There's a certain draw to works that captivate, inviting the eyes to wander through their corners and layers. The pull of color, shape, and scale can make a piece irresistibly magnetic. There's no science to it, as far as I know, but it’s a wonderfully addictive thrill.
All this is to say: Bunny Hennessey’s work feeds this fascination. The London-based artist creates abstract paintings that feel alive with expression, each a constellation of marks that both dazzle and disorient. Her compositions nod subtly to nature with organic forms, yet her palette bursts with vibrant, electric colors that feel undeniably contemporary.
In her work, Hennessey uses paint to capture the body’s spectrum of permeability, probing where the boundaries between the sinister and the naive start to blur. Ambiguous figures surface and dissolve, existing in a space both vulnerable and unsettling, as though suspended in the liminal zone between presence and disappearance. Her compositions challenge the traditional canvas itself—pushing it to become more than just a static frame. Here, the canvas transforms into a resilient container that holds internal turmoil, a controlled contrast to the unpredictable, porous nature of our own bodies.
Hennessey explores the body as both boundary and blur, embracing its ephemeral, messy inclination to leak—physically, emotionally, and metaphorically. She envisions paint as a stagnant fluid within her, released in swift, instinctive bursts to preserve her sensations' intensity. This interplay between containment and release is a delicate balance, as she crafts figures that hover on the edge of presence and dissolution. Her canvases, meanwhile, become sturdy enough to hold the frenzy within, a stark yet fitting contrast to our permeable, unpredictable selves.
Hennessey’s work is as much about the process of creation as it is about the finished piece. She approaches each canvas with an intense spontaneity, embracing the tension between control and surrender. Her swift, instinctive strokes allow her to capture fleeting sensations, channeling them into her work before they dissipate. This immediacy lends her paintings a visceral quality, where each mark feels charged with raw, undiluted emotion. In a way, the act of painting becomes cathartic—a process of both purging and preserving, much like our own need to process and release emotions.
The visual experience of her pieces mirrors this emotional layering. Viewers often find themselves drawn in, eyes darting from detail to detail, unsure of where to settle. This intentional ambiguity keeps the viewer in a state of exploration, never quite finding a resting point. Hennessey’s use of color—both vibrant and somber—adds to this sense of contradiction, amplifying the tension between comfort and discomfort, innocence and menace. She invites viewers to sit with these contrasts, urging them to consider how these themes might reflect their own internal landscapes.
Hennessey’s ability to blend abstraction with a sense of form also allows her to toy with the perception of the body. Figures seem to shift in and out of focus, their edges fluid, as if dissolving into the background. This treatment of form raises questions about identity and presence: Are these figures self-contained, or are they part of a larger, more complex whole? In her paintings, bodies are not rigid entities; they’re porous and permeable, suggesting that our own boundaries may be far less defined than we believe.
Beyond her exploration of the body, Hennessey’s work speaks to a broader examination of how we experience the world. Her compositions challenge the traditional role of the canvas, urging it to bear the weight of complex emotions and chaotic energy. In doing so, she invites viewers to confront their own understanding of structure and stability. Her art becomes a mirror, reflecting our own fluctuating emotions, our own fragile boundaries. In Hennessey’s hands, paint becomes more than pigment; it becomes a medium for confronting the ephemeral, reminding us of the beauty—and the chaos—embedded in our own existence.
For more on Bunny, follow her on Instagram
With peace & love
xx