DFN Gallery is proud to present Selected Work 1977 – 2008, paintings by Chuck Connelly. This exhibit, which coincides with the premiere of The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not For Sale by HBO Documentary Films on Monday, July 7th, provides an opportunity to view the scope of work by this talented and imaginative artist.

Chuck Connelly arrived in New York in the late 70s fresh out of art school and quickly became one of the larger than life neo-expressionists, along with Basquiat, Schnabel, and Condo, that defined the heyday of the downtown New York art scene. In keeping with his (not inaccurate) portrayal by Nick Nolte in Martin Scorcese’s 1999 film New York Stories: Life Lessons as the epitome of the passionate, difficult, and hard living archetype, Connelly alienated friends, lovers, patrons, dealers, and bartenders on a daily basis at the expense of his career. Conversations about Chuck Connelly invariably begin with “He’s a terrific painter but…”

Connelly left New York ten years ago and brought his Van Gogh meets Bukowski persona to the north end of Philadelphia, where fewer distractions have allowed him to continue painting uninterrupted. Aside from Van Gogh, Connelly’s work suggests the influence of Philip Guston and David Park. Traversing genres from traditional figurative works such as F.S. Fitch, 1977 to colors and compositions reminiscent of Der Blaue Reiter as seen in Animal Wallpaper, 2002, and every imaginable variation in between, Connelly’s ability and strength as an artist are unmistakable.

Chuck Connelly received his B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally for over twenty years, and he was previously represented in New York by Annina Nosei and Lennon, Weinberg. Connelly’s paintings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, J.B. Speed Museum in Louisville, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, and numerous other public and private institutions. This is Connelly’s third one person show at DFN Gallery, where he has been represented since 2005.