Since his first exhibition, as a teen, at the Oak Room Gallery in 1965 in Schenectady,
New York, Brian McPartlon has honed his skills with acrylics, watercolor, oils,
pastels and mixed media sculpture. In 1973, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. In 1975, he founded and directed the
63 Bluxome Street Gallery in San Francisco, California.
McPartlon’s technique seeks to present true depth of field through layers of shapes
and colors. His process includes staining, pouring and spraying, and a diverse set of
brushes from a traditional 6” house painting brush to palm fronds, cacti, animal
bone fragments and his fingers. A single painting may take him ten minutes or over
40 years to complete. The large bold canvases can be ominous, antagonizing,
invigorating and breathtaking
The range of colors and depth of each of McPartlon’s works evoke powerful
reactions from viewers. Observers of his works struggle to not touch the textures or
crawl into the portals that exist in the layers of his paintings.
Brian McPartlon was born in Schenectady, New York in 1948. His high school
teachers encouraged his art and at age 17 his work was recognized at a local art
exhibit as one of the “Best of Show.” McPartlon then attended the School of Visual
Arts in New York. He studied drawing, painting and sculpture in a traditional studio
setting, all the while exploring art museums and galleries, hungry for arts without
confinement. He “hung out” at famed counterculture places, associated with
influential artists and activists and participated in Vietnam War protests. These
events brought a connection to a world that he felt was his to encompass and
portray in a manner unlike any he had learned in school. McPartlon then moved to
California to attend the San Francisco Art Institute.
Upon graduation in 1973, McPartlon rented studio space in San Francisco. With
artist friends from the evolving South of Market Art scene, he put together wellattended impromptu art shows at what became known as 63 Bluxome gallery. In
1975, the collector Thomas Martinez introduced him to other collectors, designers
and artists. McPartlon was now selling his work. In 1978, McPartlon also began
using his studio to build movie sets and was Art Director and Property Master for
various films through 1986.
Difficult personal challenges then pulled his attention elsewhere for a time. After
some years, he refocused his creative energies in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He and his
brother Kevin started McPartlon Roofing, an ongoing successful roofing business. In
Santa Fe for the past 40 years he has supported the arts – as a fundraiser, curator
and exhibit producer. And McPartlon continued to work on his art, painting every
day. His 2021 solo exhibit The Shape of Color at Pie Projects in Santa Fe was a
curated selection of McPartlon’s recent work ranging from his small works on paper
to his large 8’ x 6’ acrylic paintings on canvas.
Press includes LandEscape Art Review, London, UK; Magazine 43/Berlin, Hong Kong,
Manila; and Pasatiempo/Santa Fe New Mexican. He can currently be found in his new
midtown Santa Fe studio, working on a new series of large paintings whose focus is
preternatural.
RÉSUMÉ
Born: Schenectady, New York
Residence: Santa Fe, NM
EDUCATION / ART RELATED
Gallery Director, 63 Bluxome Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1972 – 1976
School of Visual Arts, New York City, NY
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA, BFA 1973
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021 The Shape of Color, Pie Projects, Santa Fe, NM
2015 Watercolors, Olive Rush Garden, Santa Fe, NM
2010 The Gold Show, Linda Durham Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Impressions, The Garden at Friends Hall, Santa Fe, NM
2009 Solo Show, Goldleaf Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2005 Solo Show/My Life, Expressions in Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
1981 Six, Gallery Space, San Francisco, CA
1980 Coast to Coast, Public Image, New York, NY
1978 Paintings & Drawings/Brian McPartlon, Nielsen Gallery, Berkeley, CA
1977 Solo Show, Galleria/Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
Art of Heart, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Downtown Center,
1976 America, 63 Bluxome Street, San Francisco, CA
1975 Solo Show, Canessa Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1975 Information, Atholl McBean Gallery at The San Francisco Art Institute, CA
1974 Three Painters, 63 Bluxome Street, San Francisco, CA
1968 Selections, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
1965 Best of the Stockade, Oak Room Gallery, Schenectady, NY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Brian McPartlon at Pie Projects,” Michael Abatemarco, Pasatiempo/Santa Fe New Mexico,
November 12, 2021
“63 Bluxome,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, August 2021
“The Roof Will Set You Free,” Paul Weideman, The Santa Fe New Mexican, July 2009
“The Man Who Fell to Earth: Brian McPartlon’s New Abstracts,” Lisa Polisar, Crosswinds
Weekly, October 2005
“Raise the Roof,” Denise Kusel, Pasatiempo/The Santa Fe New Mexican, October 1999
“Artists Invite You Home,” Robert Atkins, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, October 1978
“An Exhibition of Artistic ‘Auto’-Graphs,” Suzan Boetter, San Francisco Chronicle, June 1976
“The Art World Radical Rhetoric In New Journals,” Thomas Albright, San Francisco Chronicle,
January 1976
“The Expanding Alternatives,” Thomas Albright, San Francisco Chronicle, 1975
“South of Market Artist Got Their Act Together” Thomas Albright, San Francisco Chronicle,
November 1975
“Floating Seminar #2, A Survey of Alternative Art Spaces,” Paul Kagawa, Publisher San
Francisco: The Floating Seminar, October 1975
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The University of New Mexico Law School, Albuquerque, NM
Mr. Thomas Martinez, San Francisco, CA
Mr. Danny Adair, US Ply Corporate Offices, Dallas, TX
Mr. & Mrs. Albert Finnilla, Larkspur, CA
