Dominic McElwee
Untitled
Oil on Aluminium
180 x 240 mm
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For me this untitled painting is about the relationship between the subject and the viewer. Only a sliver of the room’s inhabitant is visible, peering at us around an internal corner.
Cast in the unease of her gaze, the saturated blues and greens of her spartan space seem more a psychological than a physical environment; which must mean that we, her visitors, have cast the room its dense blue.
– Dominic McElwee
Artist Bio
Dominic McElwee is a contemporary New Zealand artist based in Palermo, Italy, specialising in refined realist paintings on metal in miniature scale. His work draws influence from European art of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with McElwee favouring narrative figure compositions that incorporate subtle social commentary. Through this approach, he engages with art-historical tropes, revisiting iconic imagery and themes while infusing them with a critical, contemporary perspective.
McElwee’s meticulous technique is defined by his exceptional command over light, colour, and material, which plays a central role in the emotional depth of his work. Working within small and miniature scales, he creates compositions with an intense tactile quality, where light interacts with the smooth, reflective surface of copper. This subtle manipulation of surface and light gives his pieces an immersive, almost sculptural presence, where the interplay of form and emotion is deeply intertwined. Each brushstroke is executed with precision, allowing McElwee to invite viewers into a direct, visceral engagement with both the visual composition and its underlying narrative.