{{short description|American painter (born 1989)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Anthony Cudahy | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1989}} | occupation = Painter | education = {{Plainlist| * Pratt Institute (BFA, 2011) * Hunter College (MFA, 2020) }} | spouse = Ian Lewandowski | website = {{URL|anthonycudahy.com}} }} '''Anthony Cudahy''' (born 1989){{r|halesgallery}} is a contemporary American painter whose work addresses queer experience and the relationship between contemporary figurative painting and its historical precedents.{{r|bombmagazine1}}
He creates figurative compositions that draw on personal photographs, queer archival imagery, art history, and film stills.{{r|halesgallery}}{{r|newyorktimes1}}{{r|frieze1}}{{r|juxtapoz2}} His paintings are often rendered with areas of phosphorescent color against denser, muted passages.{{r|strangefirecollective}}
==Early life and education== Anthony Cudahy was born in 1989{{r|halesgallery}} and grew up in Fort Myers, Florida.{{r|newyorktimes1}} He moved to New York City{{r|newyorktimes1}} and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in 2011.{{r|bombmagazine1}} He completed a Master of Fine Arts at Hunter College in 2020.{{r|hyperallergic1}}
==Career== After graduating from Pratt in 2011, Cudahy worked as a graphic designer for nearly a decade while continuing to paint.{{r|bombmagazine1}} In 2013–14, he was an artist-in-residence at the ARTHA Project in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.{{r|arthaproj}} His first solo exhibition, ''Heaven Inside'', opened at Uprise Art Outpost in 2014.{{r|artsy1}} He is represented by GRIMM, Hales Gallery, and Semiose.{{r|grimmgallery}}
==Work== Cudahy's paintings pair delicate figural drawing with broad abstract passages.{{r|hyperallergic1}} His subjects are often solitary figures or couples in dreamlike, ambiguous settings.{{r|hyperallergic1}}{{r|super-nyc}} He repeatedly paints people from his life, including his husband and close friends, in scenes that range from observational portraits to allegorical narratives, open to interpretation.{{r|juxtapoz1}}{{r|interviewmagazine1}}
Cudahy works from a personal archive of snapshots, film stills, screenshots, and historical queer photographs.{{r|juxtapoz2}}{{r|strangefirecollective}}{{r|interviewmagazine1}} By repainting these appropriated images, he shifts their original context{{r|frieze1}}{{r|brooklynrail1}} to surface intimate moments{{r|juxtapoz1}} and marginalized stories, particularly those tied to queer experience.{{r|bombmagazine1}}{{r|strangefirecollective}} He cites Pieter Bruegel the Elder,{{r|bombmagazine1}} Albrecht Dürer,{{r|bombmagazine1}} Lucian Freud,{{r|juxtapoz1}} Caspar David Friedrich,{{r|brooklynrail1}} Chris Ofili,{{r|juxtapoz1}} and Jenny Saville{{r|juxtapoz1}} as influences.
Cudahy typically works wet-on-wet in long sessions, aiming to complete each painting's first layer in one sitting to preserve its luminosity and energy.{{r|newyorktimes1}}{{r|bombmagazine1}} Cudahy also makes colored pencil drawings.{{r|halesgallery}}
==Critical reception== Cudahy's work has been described as depicting "queer intimacy in the mundane"{{r|interviewmagazine1}} and blurring "the mundane and the sacred."{{r|wallpaper}} Artsy called Cudahy "a serious painter who's also an unpredictable storyteller" and "a reliable narrator of the era."{{r|artsy1}} Critics have compared his work to that of Peter Doig and Salman Toor;{{r|brooklynrail1}} he has also been grouped alongside Janiva Ellis, Genieve Figgis, and Cy Gavin as contemporaries working in a similar figurative mode.{{r|artsy1}} ''L'Express'' likened Cudahy's precision in drawing and use of color to David Hockney's, and described his ''éclectisme audacieux'' ({{translation|"bold eclecticism"}}) as unmatched among young figurative painters internationally.{{r|lexpress1}} ''BOMB'' described his practice as "painting that thinks through other images," noting how he reinterpreted works by neglected and often unattributed older artists.{{r|bombmagazine1}}
==Personal life== Cudahy lives and works in Brooklyn with his husband, photographer Ian Lewandowski.{{r|newyorktimes1}}
==Exhibitions== * ''Heaven Inside'', Uprise Art Outpost, Chelsea, NY, 2014{{r|upriseart}} * ''Recent Work'', Artha Project Space, Long Island City, NY, 2015{{r|arthaproj}} * ''The Fourth Part of the Day'', Farewell Books, Austin, TX, 2015{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} * ''EatF_3'', Mumbo's Outfit, within Geary Contemporary, New York, NY, 2016{{r|mumbosoutfit}} * ''NARSOLIPS'', Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2016{{r|coolergallery}} * ''The Gathering'', The Java Project, Brooklyn, NY, 2018{{r|javaproj}} * ''Night Paintings'', 1969 Gallery, New York, NY, 2018{{r|1969nightpaintings}} * ''Anthony Cudahy: Burn Across the Breeze'', 1969 Gallery, New York, NY, 2021{{r|1969burnacrossbreeze}} * ''Anthony Cudahy, The Moon Sets a Knife'', Semiose Gallery, Paris, France, 2021{{r|semiosemoonknife}} * ''Coral Room'', Hales Gallery, New York, NY, 2021{{r|HGcoralroom}} * ''Anthony Cudahy, Flames'', Semiose Gallery, Paris, France, 2021{{r|semioseflames}} * ''Double Spar'', dual exhibition: Hales Gallery and GRIMM, London, UK, 2023{{r|wallpaper}}{{r|GGdoublespar}}{{r|HGdoublespar}} * ''Conversation'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dole, France, 2023{{r|bombmagazine1}} * ''Fool's Gold'', Hales Gallery, New York, NY, 2024{{r|HGfoolsgold}} * ''Fool's Errand'', Grimm Gallery, London, UK, 2024{{r|GGfoolserrand}} and Grimm Gallery, New York, NY, 2024{{r|juxtapoz2}} * ''Spinneret'', Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine, 2024;{{r|OMAA}} traveled to the Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, Texas{{r|GFAF}}
==Collections== Cudahy's work is in the permanent collections of several institutions, including: * Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD{{r|bma}} * Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Stanford, CA{{r|cac}} * Dallas Museum of Art, TX{{r|dma}} * Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL{{r|ica}} * Kunstmuseum, The Hague, the Netherlands{{r|kmh}} * Les Arts au Mur Artothèque, Pessac, France{{r|lamap}} * Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France{{r|mam}} * New York Historical Society, New York, NY{{r|NYHS}} * Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY{{citation needed|date=February 2026}} * Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands{{r|stedelijk}}
==References== {{reflist|refs= <ref name="1969burnacrossbreeze">{{Cite web |url=https://www.1969gallery.com/past#/anthony-cudahy-burn-across-the-breeze |title=Anthony Cudahy: Burn Across the Breeze |date=January 10 – February 21, 2021 |website=1969 Gallery |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="1969nightpaintings">{{Cite web |url=https://www.1969gallery.com/past#/anthony-cudahy-night-paintings |title=Anthony Cudahy: Night Paintings |date=September 13 – October 21, 2018 |website=1969 Gallery |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="arthaproj">{{Cite web |url=https://arthaproject.org/artists-in-residence |title=Anthony Cudahy: Recent Work |date=2015 |website=Artha Project Space |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="artsy1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artsy-vanguard-2022-anthony-cudahy |last=Belknap |first=John |title=The Artsy Vanguard 2022: Anthony Cudahy |date=November 15, 2022 |website=Artsy |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="bma">{{Cite web |url=https://collection.artbma.org/people/33963/anthony-cudahy |title=Anthony Cudahy |website=Baltimore Museum of Art |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="bombmagazine1">{{Cite web |url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/2023/08/30/anthony-cudahy-interviewed/ |last=Moroz |first=Sarah |title=Anthony Cudahy: Painting That Thinks Through Other Images |date=August 30, 2023 |website=BOMB |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="brooklynrail1">{{Cite web |url=https://brooklynrail.org/2020/03/artseen/The-Moon-Seemed-Lost/ |last=Soboleva |first=Ksenia |title=The Moon Seemed Lost |date=April 2, 2020 |website=The Brooklyn Rail |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="cac">{{Cite web |url=https://cantorcollection.stanford.edu/artist-maker/info/11035 |title=Anthony Cudahy |website=Cantor Arts Center |publisher=Stanford University |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="coolergallery">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cooler-gallery.com/anthony-cudahy |title=NARSOLIPS |date=November 2016 |website=Cooler Gallery |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="dma">{{Cite web |url=https://dma.org/art/collection/object/5358363 |title=Smoke Sun, Ocular Migraine, Torture Wheel |website=Dallas Museum of Art |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="frieze1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.frieze.com/article/anthony-cudahy-interview-2023 |last=Cholakova |first=Ivana |title=Anthony Cudahy: 'My Work Feels Like a Living History' |date=October 23, 2023 |website=Frieze |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="GFAF">{{Cite web |url=https://www.greenfamilyartfoundation.org/exhibitions/24-anthony-cudahy-spinneret-organized-by-the-ogunquit-museum-of-american-art/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Spinneret |date=October 5, 2025 |website=Green Family Art Foundation |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="GGdoublespar">{{Cite web |url=https://grimmgallery.com/exhibitions/263-anthony-cudahy-double-spar/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Double Spar |date=October 9 – November 11, 2023 |website=Grimm |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="GGfoolserrand">{{Cite web |url=https://grimmgallery.com/exhibitions/295-anthony-cudahy-fool-s-errand/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Fool's Errand |date=September 6, 2024 |website=Grimm |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="grimmgallery">{{Cite web |url=https://grimmgallery.com/exhibitions/263-anthony-cudahy-double-spar/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Double Spar |website=Grimm |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="halesgallery">{{Cite web |url=https://halesgallery.com/artists/139-anthony-cudahy/overview/ |title=Anthony Cudahy |website=Hales Gallery |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="HGcoralroom">{{Cite web |url=https://halesgallery.com/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Coral Room |date=September 10 – October 30, 2021 |website=Hales Gallery |access-date=March 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924082014/https://halesgallery.com/ |archive-date=September 24, 2021}}</ref> <ref name="HGdoublespar">{{Cite web |url=https://halesgallery.com/exhibitions/210-anthony-cudahy-double-spar/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Double Spar |date=October 9 – November 11, 2023 |website=Hales Gallery |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="HGfoolsgold">{{Cite web |url=https://halesgallery.com/exhibitions/233-anthony-cudahy-fools-gold/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Fool's Gold |date=September 6, 2024 |website=Hales Gallery |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="hyperallergic1">{{Cite web |url=https://hyperallergic.com/659674/ethereal-everyday-anthony-cudahy-semoise-gallery/ |last=Zinn |first=Sebastian |title=The Ethereal Everyday of Anthony Cudahy |date=June 29, 2021 |website=Hyperallergic |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="ica">{{Cite web |url=https://icamiami.org/artist/anthony-cudahy/ |title=Anthony Cudahy |website=Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="interviewmagazine1">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/how-painter-anthony-cudahy-finds-intimacy-in-the-mundane |last=Arias |first=Tsabella |title=How Painter Anthony Cudahy Finds Intimacy in the Mundane |date=December 20, 2024 |magazine=Interview}}</ref> <ref name="javaproj">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejavaproj.com/anthony-cudahy |title=The Gathering |date=2018 |website=The Java Project |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="juxtapoz1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/anthony-cudahy-the-inflections-of-somebody/ |last=Pricco |first=Evan |title=Anthony Cudahy: The Inflections of Somebody |date=2024 |website=Juxtapoz |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="juxtapoz2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/painting/anthony-cudahy-and-a-fool-s-errand/ |last=Pricco |first=Evan |title=Anthony Cudahy and a "Fool's Errand" |date=September 11, 2024 |website=Juxtapoz |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="kmh">{{Cite web |url=https://www.kunstmuseum.nl/en/collection/fear-painting |title=Fear Painting |date=31 March 2023 |website=Kunstmuseum Den Haag |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="lamap">{{Cite web |url=https://www.lesartsaumur.com/collection-pret/collection/ |title=Anthony Cudahy |website=Les Arts au Mur, Artothèque de Pessac |language=fr |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="lexpress1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/art/lexposition-a-ne-pas-manquer-anthony-cudahy-une-conversation-riche-en-promesses-2PLCGE2XUBEN7AVSUI52BHNRXM/ |last=Dannery |first=Letizia |title=Anthony Cudahy, une "conversation" riche en promesses |trans-title=Anthony Cudahy, a "conversation" rich with promise |date=May 20, 2023 |website=L'Express |language=fr |access-date=February 12, 2026}}</ref> <ref name="mam">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mam.paris.fr/en/online-collections#/artworks/authors/CUDAHY%20Anthony |title=Anthony Cudahy |website=Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris |language=fr |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="mumbosoutfit">{{Cite web |url=https://artguide.artforum.com/uploads/guide.003/id23734/press_release.pdf |title=Anthony Cudahy: EatF_3 |date=April 28 – May 28, 2016 |website=Artforum |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="newyorktimes1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/t-magazine/anthony-cudahy-ogunquit-museum.html |last=Romack |first=Coco |title=An Artist Who Aims to Be as Eclectic as a Tumblr Feed |date=March 12, 2024 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="NYHS">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/portrait-collection-highlights |title=Portrait Collection Highlights |website=New-York Historical Society |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="OMAA">{{Cite web |url=https://ogunquitmuseum.org/exhibition/anthony-cudahy-spinneret/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Spinneret |date=April 12 – July 21, 2024 |website=Ogunquit Museum of American Art |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="semioseflames">{{Cite web |url=https://semiose.com/exposition/anthony-cudahy-flames-2020/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: Flames |date=May 26, 2020 |website=Semiose |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="semiosemoonknife">{{Cite web |url=https://semiose.com/exposition/anthony-cudahy-the-moon-sets-a-knife-2021/ |title=Anthony Cudahy: The Moon Sets a Knife |date=May 22, 2021 |website=Semiose |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="stedelijk">{{Cite web |url=https://www.stedelijk.nl/en/news/bad-thoughts-2 |title=Bad Thoughts |website=Stedelijk Museum |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="strangefirecollective">{{Cite web |url=http://www.strangefirecollective.com/qa-anthony-cudahy/ |last=Soldi |first=Rafael |title=Q&A: Anthony Cudahy |date=April 8, 2021 |website=Strange Fire Collective |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="super-nyc">{{Cite web |url=https://super-nyc.com/Anthony-Cudahy |last1=Coleman |first1=Jack |last2=Toups |first2=Olivia |title=Anthony Cudahy |date=April 2021 |website=Super! |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="upriseart">{{Cite web |url=https://www.upriseart.com/exhibitions/outpost-heaven-inside-secret-wisdom |title=Heaven Inside |date=March 2014 |website=Uprise Art |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref> <ref name="wallpaper">{{Cite web |url=https://www.wallpaper.com/art/exhibitions-shows/the-mundane-meets-the-sacred-in-anthony-cudahy-richly-drawn-figures |last=Silver |first=Hannah |title=The mundane meets the sacred in Anthony Cudahy's richly drawn figures |date=October 18, 2023 |website=Wallpaper* |access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> }}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Devon |last2=Loh |first2=Maria H. |last3=Montez |first3=Ricardo |author-link= |date=May 8, 2024 |title= Anthony Cudahy: Spinneret|url=https://www.phaidon.com/monacelli/art-and-photography/anthony-cudahy-spinneret-9781580936675/ |publisher= Phaidon |isbn=978-1-58093-667-5}}
== External links == * {{Official|https://anthonycudahy.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cudahy, Anthony}} Category:1989 births Category:21st-century American male artists Category:21st-century American painters Category:American gay artists Category:Hunter College alumni Category:Living people Category:Painters from New York City Category:People from Fort Myers, Florida Category:Pratt Institute alumni