Portfolio Review: Brian Kirhagis Talks the Life Lessons and Complicated Themes Behind His Vibrant Paintings

Inspiration comes from a variety of places for Brooklyn-based artist Brian Kirhagis. Transforming his thoughts on current events and social issues into striking visual imagery, Kirhagis creates what he calls a “collective reality” through his paintings, many of which are truly larger than life. The combination of intellectually stimulating concepts and visually inspiring artistry turns acrylic paint and canvas into stories.

Most recently, Kirhagis opened a solo exhibition in NYC called “Levels” at The Atelier, and he’ll be one of the featured artists at the UFC’s “The Art of Fighting” show at the Contemporary Arts Center in Las Vegas opening July 1.

“To have the opportunity to paint for the UFC is not only an honor, but is also very special to me for a variety of reasons,” says Kirhagis. “Aside from being a fan since the early days, I was an avid wrestler in high school and have a deep appreciation for the dedication and discipline that goes into the sport.

“Furthermore, my manager and good friend was a black belt in multiple disciplines, who trained twice a day in mixed martial arts. He was part of the movement to bring the UFC to New York City. Unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly 18 months ago. It served as a catalyst for me to work harder than I ever had to achieve the success we dreamt of, and this platform could not be more perfect. I know he is smiling because his two favorite things have collided—fighting and my art.”

With collectors from Damon Dash to Fabolous and clients like the New York Yankees already in the mix, more than just the art world has started to take notice. For those of you that can’t make it to his shows, we’ve linked up with the self-taught artist to find out the story behind his favorite works, and what each piece means to him. Check out our Portfolio Review: Brian Kirhagis Talks the Life Lessons and Complicated Themes Behind His Vibrant Paintings.

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Medium: 53 x 50” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2014

“The title of the painting is God of Sun, Son of God. It is a not so subtle wordplay to let you know up front that we are talking about the same thing. The two central figures in the center of the composition illustrate this fact. On the left we have Jesus, and on the right, Osiris. The figure is split directly down the center, with one side seemingly morphing into the other.”

Medium: 98 x 46” Acrylic and glue on canvas
Year: 2014

“They say that the human mind is capable of incredible things, that through our thoughts, we can manifest our own reality. This concept has always struck a chord deep within the fibers of my body and serves as a source of inspiration for my work. Artists are a rare breed blessed with a unique talent to formulate our thoughts into images. It's with this gift that I attempt to create a collective reality through my paintings. If by providing the image I can help ignite a thought, then maybe our reality can change.”

Medium: 39 x 30” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2014

“96-hour work weeks, shitty food, lack of sleep, piled up bills, short money for long problems…life weighs us all down. It’s a slow, steady pull, like gravity. It ends like the figure on top of the head; we get laid out. However, the key is remaining bright, colorful, and beautiful in the midst of it. Gravity will pull, life will weigh on you—it’s how you handle it that counts.”

Medium: 78 x 46” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2014

“The scene depicts a couple in bed. The forms of the man and woman morph into a sprawling castle. The covers begin to shape a landscape, and the moat protects them front outside forces. Don’t make townships with someone you simply like; build kingdoms with the one you love.”

Medium: 21.5 x 17.5” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“I’m addicted. I know it’s killing me, but I can’t quit. These dreams hurt; they make it hard to breathe. I’m suffocating trying to build a future, but how will I get there when the toll is so high? I can’t eat because they take my appetite. My sustenance is ambition; my nutrition is hope. The cost is rising, and I keep buying. I don’t care what the price tag is. I pay with my heart. We’re all crunched in this city, packed tight with the same visions, the same wishes, the same stories. We’re smoking each other and damn it burns… No, you cannot bum one of mine. No, you cannot buy it for a dollar. I put my life into this, and you want a handout? I crave this. I inhale deeply and live it. I welcome the addiction. Light my paper, watch my insides burn, and pass through my filter. Because when I breathe, I breathe you, and I see my dreams.”

Medium: 9 x 12” Pencil on bristol
Year: 2011

“I adore the suits who see my sweats and think my mind is soft like the fabric. They push twisted contracts that never see any ink. This isn’t my rookie year. That season passed a long time ago. Yet, I can still hear the footprints of my past running down the hallway of my present. The streets are always calling, but I’m on the other line with my future, discussing destiny. It rings around the clock, and it’s hard not to pick up when the intoxicating distraction of women and the fast life are around every corner. However, I choose which street I navigate; my moral compass was calibrated long before this journey.

“The avenues and streets are littered with vultures. They sit high atop the skyscrapers that pierce the sky, circling and hovering over the intersections, waiting to feed on the weak and feeble. They despise the taste of knowledge and crave the sweetness of ignorance. The pages of the street read the same as the pages on the shelf. It's up to you to read and cite both sources. Schooled with the knowledge of the bricks and the books, one learns how to move in a room full of vultures.”

Medium: 30 x 40” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“An ode to Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, I painted this on the 100th anniversary of his Fountain in NYC. Using the same principles of cubism, I substituted curves and shapes for the hard angles. This ‘curvism’ style has allowed me to hide 10 nudes (faces, profiles, bodies, etc.) inside the composition.”

Medium: 12 x 12” Acrylic on birch panel
Year: 2013

“They send a jackal into a developing country and promise progress. An ‘impossible to repay’ loan from the World Bank or the IMF is presented as a gift. Subverted from within, the country is now indebted, the progress never comes, and we pillage them of their natural resources. Just another day of business for economic hitmen.”

Medium: 27 x 40” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2010

“We all know the old adage, 'Men are from Mars, and women are from Venus.' Anyone who has been in love and in a relationship knows this rings true. Unfortunately, women don’t come with a user’s manual, and men are often left scratching their heads trying to figure it out. Just as a watered plant will grow, so will a relationship provided with the proper fertilizer. However, it’s easy to succumb to the pace of today’s world, and we become complacent with the ones we love. By reading between the lines of the paper, we can plug into a new understanding and realize that they do in fact, come with instructions; the manual has always been there.

“It’s the little things which hold the greatest weight, tiny details of everyday life that add up to a beautiful mosaic of love: taking the time to listen, letting her know she’s beautiful, and making her laugh. It’s all about enjoying the moments we have, pausing to smell and enjoy the flowers. Forgetting the manual, sometimes we end up having to take it all apart because we built it up the wrong way. Men are stubborn and think we don’t need instructions, that we’re never lost, and we don’t need help. But this is one booklet we can’t ignore, and it’s not so much that we’re from different planets, maybe woman just read a little more than we do.”

Medium: 48 x 48” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“Her color is smooth like butter. She’s the flyest of the fly, beautiful to look at and harder to catch. But ah, she’s not mine.”

Medium: 4 x 6” Pencil on bristol
Year: 2012

“A woman with a perfect physique, the perfect ‘10’—her physical features are as finely toned as a race horse… Horses are mistreated and abused daily in the high stakes world of track racing, objectified and used for the benefit of others. It’s painful to see beauty turn so ugly. Is what society does to our women much different?”

Medium: 48 x 48” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“She lives and breathes the city streets. Nightclubs, bars, and ballrooms are her playground—a goddess in the limelight. She dances to the rhythm of the people, hypnotized by the sounds and smells of the metropolis. Her heart beats through the concrete, up the catwalks, and to the tops of the skyscrapers. She is the socialite, a late-night butterfly who comes out to play when the neon lights flicker on.”

Medium: 18 x 24” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“Don’t leave things unsaid.”

Medium: 42 x 40” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2014

“The ghost of Hottentot Venus is everywhere. It is most haunting in the TV screens, tablets, iPhones, and computers that our children are exposed to. We are supposed to set the example, and instead we set the status quo.”

Medium: 175 x 46” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2011

“When I envision Eden, I choose not to wear the jaded glasses supplied by the fallacies of history. The typo in the title is not an error. I want to set your mind state before we go any further. School will teach you that the stories in Genesis are myths used to explain things early man couldn’t understand. What you fail to learn is that they were written by men, for men, with specific intentions in mind.”

Medium: 9 x 12” Pencil on bristol
Year: 2012

“There are 12 gashes at the intersection where the future and past meet. It is a crowded and lonely place, devoid of any signs or lights to help guide your next move. On these four corners stand a King, a Queen, and a Jester, and they’re holding court in the street. The King’s only possession is the pencil, with which he draws his crown. It’s a kingdom wrapped in wood, topped with aluminum, and capped with an eraser to repair the cracks when pressure builds and the castle crumbles. No lush furs, precious gems, or magnificent fabrics adorn this King. His riches are tucked away inside, lined up on the shelves of his character.”

Medium: 65 x 65” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“There are five total Biggies in the composition. Can you find them all?”

Medium: 41 x 41” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“British Ceylon, like so many other places, has been erased from the maps of history, no longer printed on our scholastic globes or atlases, existing only in obscure collections of dusty Encyclopedia Britannica in your grandparents’ attic. They know what Ceylon is. Depending on your age, you may have heard of it as well. Surely this Insta-generation doesn’t know that Sri Lanka used to be called Ceylon. For most of us, that’s what it’s always been. It’s ironic, considering we’re so socially ‘connected.’ Thanks to Nicki Minaj and a catchy punch line, the island has become part of pop culture in recent years, but light is being shed in the wrong places because there is still darkness. Yes, some of the most exotic and beautiful women in the world come from Sri Lanka, but that’s not where they call home. You see, tigers don’t live in Ceylon, they live in Tamil Eelam—and the British Empire, like so many places, erased it.”

Medium: 56 x 56” Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2013

“There are 17 people, faces, and profiles that comprise this painting. The concept represents the idea that we are a culmination of all the relationships we have ever experienced. Some build us up, and some tear us down. Be nice to people. You never know how they will wear you.”

Medium: 9 x 12" Pencil on bristol
Year: 2011

“Love is like the most expensive puzzle at the toy store. It’s the flashiest box on the highest shelf, and all the advertisements in the store point you right to it. When you open the box, you realize that it doesn’t come with a reference picture. We’re supposed to build an image of what we think it should be. One puzzling piece at a time, we can see it take shape, but you better use the right parts. Don’t grab from the materialistic bag. The name brand pieces look the best, but they have no content. They don’t connect to any of the pieces around them. They’re dead space and won’t help the bigger picture.

“We never complete the puzzle because we can’t find that one weird shape. Often, it’s because we looked in the wrong pile. Do search for the overlooked pieces in the unpopular places. Go right when everyone else goes left. The small parts are the key to the whole thing.”