There may be nothing particularly progressive about depicting a girl with a sewing machine, the female subjects of Sean Mahan’s acrylic-on-wood paintings are almost spookily self-possessed. Whether they’re toddlers or teenagers, the expressions on the faces of these girls — who are also writers and photographers and origami artists — telegraph intelligence, concentration, and thoughtfulness. On his website, Mahan describes his work as “social-realist” paintings that “depict a sense of wonder at the simple inherent sweetness of the human character and its conflict with structures of power and control.” Click through to see a few highlights of Meehan’s work, spotted via Beautiful/Decay, a selection of which is currently on display at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City, CA.
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan
Image credit: Sean Mahan