Anthony Cudahy (born 1989) is a contemporary American painter known for his figurative compositions that blend abstraction and realism, drawing from a diverse sources including personal photographs, queer archival imagery, art history, and cinematic stills.[1][2][3][4] Based in Brooklyn, New York, Cudahy explores themes of intimacy, vulnerability, queer identity, and the interplay between past and present through layered painting.[5] His paintings are known for their tender and complex depictions of human experience, often rendered in luminous, phosphorescent colors and fluid brushstrokes that give his scenes a dreamlike quality.[6][7]
Anthony Cudahy was born in 1989 in Fort Myers, Florida.[8] His upbringing in Florida influences his work, with natural elements such as flora and light often appearing as recurring motifs.[6] Seeking broader artistic opportunities, Cudahy relocated to New York City, where he pursued his formal education in the arts. In 2011, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.[1][2][3] He returned to school to complete a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at Hunter College in New York in 2020.[1][2][3][9] Cudahy lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, with his husband, photographer, Ian Lewandowski.[1][2][3]
Residencies
Cudahy was an artist-in-residence at the ARTHA Project, Brooklyn Navy Yards, New York in 2013-14.[10]
Artistic style and themes
Cudahy’s work occupies a space between figuration and abstraction.[11] The subjects of his paintings are often human figures — solitary or in pairs — set within ambiguous, atmospheric environments such as domestic interiors, natural landscapes, or social gatherings.[12][13] The scenes in his paintings often present an ambiguous narrative which invites viewers to interpret the emotional and historical content.[14] Cudahy's paintings are often a hybrid of visual histories blending various figures from art history and queer photography into contemporary scenes such as portraiture, domestic spaces, or social sites.[15]
Central to Cudahy’s oeuvre are themes of queer identity, tenderness, and the continuum of experience across time.[9][11] His works often depict intimate moments — lovers embracing, figures in quiet reflection — that speak to the nuances of human connection.[15] Trauma and hope coexist in his paintings, as he examines how personal and collective histories shape the present.[16][13] By reimagining forgotten or marginalized stories, particularly those tied to queer experience, Cudahy constructs allegories that resonate with both specificity and universality.[16] Cudahy draws inspiration from an eclectic archive that includes personal snapshots, film stills, computer screenshots, queer historical photographs, and art-historical references ranging from medieval tapestries to the works of Pieter Bruegel and William Blake.[9][4] Lewandowski, also contributes to this archive, notably through the inclusion of images from Cudahy’s great-uncle Kenny Gardner.[17] This interplay of personal and collective memory allows Cudahy to recontextualize the past, addressing contemporary issues through a historical lens.[17]
Cudahy’s painterly technique is as important as his thematic subjects.[17] He employs a range of methods — fluid brushstrokes, thick impasto, delicate mark-making, and vibrant patterning — to create compositions that feel both spontaneous and crafted.[5][17] His use of phosphorescent colors, often glowing as if lit from within, give his works an ethereal quality, while his handling of paint serves as a narrative tool in itself.[5][9]
Alongside his paintings, Cudahy produces colored pencil drawings, a medium that reflects his meticulous attention to detail and complements the emotive intensity of his canvases.[5][14]
Career and exhibitions
Cudahy’s first solo exhibition, Heaven Inside, was at Uprise Art Outpost in Chelsea, New York, in 2014. His early works already demonstrated his signature style: washed-out figures rendered with emotional depth against vibrant, abstracted backgrounds.[1][2][3]
Solo exhibitions
Spinneret, (2024): Cudahy’s first U.S. museum solo exhibition debuted at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Maine,[18] later traveling to the Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, Texas.[19] Accompanied by a comprehensive monograph published by Phaidon, the exhibition explored five thematic threads—slippages, allegories, fragments, figures, and spaces—highlighting the conceptual and material richness of his practice over the past half-decade.
Fool’s Gold, Hales Gallery, New York, NY, 2024[21]
Conversation, 2023: His first solo institutional show in Europe, held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dole in France, marked a milestone in his international presence.[5]
Double Spar, 2023: A dual exhibition at Hales Gallery and GRIMM in London, this project featured iterative paintings that responded to one another across venues, showcasing his interest in narrative mutation.[22][23][24]
Anthony Cudahy, Flames, Semiose Gallery, Paris, FR, 2021[25]
Coral Room, 2021: Presented at Hales Gallery in New York, this show solidified his reputation for blending personal and poetic elements in masterful compositions.[26]
Anthony Cudahy, The Moon Sets A Knife, Semiose Gallery, Paris, FR, 2021[27]
Anthony Cudahy: Burn Across the Breeze, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY, 2021[28]
Night Paintings, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY, 2018[29]
The Gathering, The Java Project, Brooklyn, NY, 2018[30]
Recent Work, Artha Project Space, Long Island City, NY, 2015[10]
Heaven Inside, Uprise Art Outpost, Chelsea, NY, 2014[33]
Public collections
Cudahy’s paintings are held in several major public collections worldwide, reflecting their cultural and artistic value.[1][2][3] Notable institutions include:
↑ "The Gathering". thejavaproj.com. The Java Project, Brooklyn, NY. 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ "NARSOLIPS". cooler-gallery.com. Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. November 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy: EatF_3"(PDF). artguide.artforum.com. Mumbo's Outfit, within Geary Contemporary, New York, NY. April 28 – May 28, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ "Heaven Inside". upriseart.com. Uprise Art Outpost, Chelsea, NY. March 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". collection.artbma.org. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". cantorcollection.stanford.edu. Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". dma.org. Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". icamiami.org. Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Florida. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". kunstmuseum.nl. Kunstmuseum Den Haag. 31 March 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". lesartsaumur.com (in French). Les Arts au Mur Artothèque de Pessac, Pessac, France. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". mam.paris.fr (in French). Musée d'art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". nyhistory.org. New York Historical Society, New York, NY. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
↑ "Anthony Cudahy". speedmuseum.org. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
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