Regan O'Callaghan
Regan, Robert, Rehe O’Callaghan is an artist based in Provence, France. Originally from Aotearoa, New Zealand he has mixed Irish, Maori ancestry. In 1993 he moved to the United Kingdom where he later studied art and religious studies including the technique of icon painting. In 2001 Regan was ordained a deacon and a year later priested in the Diocese of London, Church of England. He developed a ministry which combined religion with art leading many art projects and workshops in schools, parishes and communities including Westminster Abbey London and residencies in the U.S, Canada, Australia and Peru. He was also commissioned by Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London to paint an icon and worked on a large interfaith and ecumenical art project in Ibilin, Israel. Regan believes in a ministry of encouragement where art is the facilitator. Today Regan’s art practice has built on the technique of icon painting combining contemporary themes with traditional techniques. He is inspired by the natural environment and humankind's relationship/connection with their surroundings.
“The nature of my practice is based on the application of contemporary and traditional techniques and the morphing of different religious themes and symbols in painting, installations and video. All my work explores ideas of ritual, the sacred and profane with the intention of drawing the viewer into challenging realms of order and chaos, apophatic and cataphatic, light and dark.”