Provenance

The first of its kind in scale and technique, graphite on canvas, American Animals depicts the final act of O’Neil’s epic saga in which a great flood wipes the slate clean. This titanic seascape, nine by twelve feet in size, is littered with dozens of finely wrought male heads. Whether floating above or sinking below the surface, drifting or drowning, the experience appears to be one of quiet meditation. Both viewer and men are lulled by waves whose gentle slopes evoke locks of flowing hair rather than a righteous deluge. O’Neil’s seascape is rendered as complacent as its denizens, whose vacant expressions belie the unfeeling ambivalence which led them to this end.

Robyn O’Neil offers an evenhanded understanding of the world through a janusian balance of horror and humor.  There is hope to be found here, and it lies in continuous exploration — in observing human history and learning from it.