Twin Palms is a culmination of William Mackinnon’s experiences over the past year.
Currently based in Australia and Spain, Mackinnon and his partner undertook architectural pilgrimages to the USA, including Fallingwater (a Frank Lloyd Wright designed residence) and Palm Springs.
These encounters were followed by intense studio time in regional Spain, where Mackinnon created his new paintings for Twin Palms. Beholden to life’s experiences, Mackinnon’s subjects span the urban nocturne, endless highways and studio interiors, each a type of psychological landscape. Outdoors in full sun, lyrical coastlines with glassy surf infer a hedonist’s sensuality, but his practice draws equally on contemporary life’s more brittle realities.
Over two decades of exhibiting in Australia and overseas, Mackinnon has achieved several art-world recognitions, most recently as a 2017 finalist for both the Wynne Prize and the Hadley’s Art Prize. In 2016, he was a finalist in the Fleurieu Art Prize and the Basil Sellers Art Prize. His work is held in a number of private and public collections, including Artbank, Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra, The University of Melbourne Art Collection, State Library of Victoria, Griffith University and the Macquarie Bank Collection.
Image: William Mackinnon The gap 2017 acrylic, oil and automotive enamel on linen 160.0 x 130.0 cm