first published in San Francisco Frontlines, October 2005

Felix Macnee in repose.

FELIX MACNEE by Matt Gonzalez

FELIX MACNEE’S RECENT PAINTINGS and drawings evoke a dual world, where fantastic creatures and morbid portraits squirm uneasily in a conceptual, abstract visual space. Many of the works are geometrically self-referential, revealing an order embedded within the form of the work itself. But the concern is as much with beauty, and the physicality of the pieces, as with their ideas.

Macnee has said, “Mostly, people don’t see paintings — they read them. The new paintings are aimed at confounding that tendency. I’m interested in working in the space between reading and seeing, where the narrative and the abstract move back and forth, at least for me.”

Macnee was recently awarded “Best Emerging Artist” at the SF ArtsFest Gala this year.  His work will be on display at Open Studios during the weekend of October 29 & 30, at the Hunters Point Shipyard, Bldg. 104, Studio #1203.

The Conductor, oil on canvas, 2001

His work can also be seen at www.felixmacnee.com.