The Radar: Gonçalo Preto, Kevin Brennan and Konrad Żukowski

Gonçalo Preto

Portuguese artist Gonçalo Preto currently lives and works in New York. His paintings examine human consciousness through subjects of light, time and memory. Often composed of mysterious situations infused with a tense atmosphere, Preto’s work explores various perceptual effects, such as the eye’s reaction to light, focus, proximity and abstraction to create images that capture the elusive nature of collective lost memories.

Age: 32

Location: Brooklyn, NY (recently moved!)

Last dream you had: I can’t recall any vivid dreams recently, but I love hearing and breaking down my partner’s complex narratives

Favourite exhibition: Multiple exhibitions have stayed with me, but most recently, Miyoko Ito’s show at Matthew Marks.

Favourite object you own: My beloved stolen motorcycle and The Hokusai Sketchbooks (First Edition)

Favourite art-world Instagram account: @chicojefferson

Favourite movie: Chungking Express (1994) by Wong Kar-Wai

Favourite artwork: My longtime screensaver – Nude in an Interior by Pierre Bonnard, 1935

Loves: Drawing on the sand, eating at candlelight, mixing paint, whistling, sharing other people’s happiness

Hates: Thirsty mosquitos, humidity, injustice, deadlines

End-of-year goals: To wake up on a windmill to the sound of running water

Kevin Brennan

Irish artist Kevin Brennan currently lives and works in London. Brennan’s practice is film-based, shifting between short film, video installation and feature-length documentaries. His work explores ideas surrounding technological evolution and its impact on human relations and experience. Using a variety of cinematic genres and visual languages from gaming and online media, Brennan’s work speaks to a shift in human ontology and identity – tracing the fragility and disintegration of empathy.

Age: 30

Location: London, UK

Last dream you had: A recurring dream of repeating my final year of secondary school

Favourite exhibition: ‘Infinite Mix’ at 180 Strand, 2016

Favourite object you own: My PS5

Favourite art-world Instagram account: Don’t have one

Favourite movie: The Tree of Life or The Shining

Favourite artwork: The Baptism of Christ by Piero della Francesca, 1440–1450

Loves: Deserts

Hates: Motion sensor lights

End-of-year goals: Make another movie

Konrad Żukowski

Polish artist Konrad Żukowski currently lives and works in Paris, where he paints those close to him. Using oil paint on raw canvas, his portraits feature deformed and distorted backgrounds that originate from quasi-geometrical forms. He refers to his previous style as ‘purple-grey’ and is now focussed on creating double and triple portraits.

Age: 28

Location: Paris, France

Last dream you had: I was playing Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 by Jean Sibelius to Ida Haendel

Favourite exhibition: Japanese Swords exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum

Favourite object you own: Renaissance ring

Favourite art-world Instagram account: Can’t decide

Favourite movie: The Ninth Gate (1999) by Roman Polanski

Favourite artwork: Egon Schiele’s Man and Women I (Lovers I ), 1914

Loves: Fresh cold air

Hates: Mosquitoes

End-of-year goals: To make a huge painting