Currently on view at Kerlin Gallery in Dublin is a solo exhibition of new work by British painter Phillip Allen. The elements of Allen’s paintings exist almost independently of one another, with geometric patterns and blocks of color tidily trailing over the center of the canvas, while bright rays of beaming light penetrate the negative spaces and connect the shapes. And then, on the same canvas but in an entirely divergent approach, Allen layers thick applications of paint onto the top and bottom of the piece, as if rebelling against his own cleanly constructed geometries. The two styles seem to be at once fused through harmonious choices from the palette, and contradictory in terms of technique and style. Allen’s work is also on view right now inClassified: Contemporary Art at Tate Britain.

Phillip Allen lives and works in London. He earned his BA at Kingston University, London and his MA at Royal College of Art, London. His work has been shown throughout the United Kingdom and internationally at Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Belgium, Brussels; PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY; and The Approach, London, UK, among others.