Declan Coyne

Artist Statement

In my artistic practice, I use visceral textures, grotesque color, and domineering large-scale forms to appeal to a subliminal satisfaction through an excess of violent imperfection. This satisfaction emerges from a contemporary social demand for perfection driven by constant comparison and systems of critique that punish the imperfect. When this need for perfection goes unsatisfied, it can boil over into acts of violent imperfection, as perfection feels fundamentally unattainable. By confronting viewers with excessively visceral and imperfect works, I aim to subliminally satisfy this need, allowing viewers to leave with a sense of acceptance toward perceived imperfections in their own lives, potentially preventing real acts of violence.
This cycle of perfection leading to violent imperfection can be seen on both personal and societal levels. On a small scale, something as tedious as painting a house requires perfect lines; repeated failure to achieve them can result in frustration that erupts into destructive gestures, like throwing paint in anger. On a much larger scale, a student who feels socially imperfect—often exacerbated by social media—may reach a breaking point where violent action feels like the only release. I hope my work can act as a subliminal outlet for this tension, providing release before it manifests in reality.

My work embodies this subliminal satisfaction through imperfection by using excessive materials on a monumental scale. I create repulsive textures from foam, hair, string, metal, cloth, and foliage, evoking an overwhelming presence of the unwanted. Paint and stain are applied to resemble spills, bloodied messes, or discarded materials. Forms bulge, burst, and push outward against pristine gallery walls, while rusted metal and misaligned elements reinforce feelings of decay and disorder. Though each element is imperfect, together they create a unified object that offers a quiet sense of resolution.

Even my materials and process embrace imperfection. Works in progress appear as disgusting, unwanted masses of foam, stain, and debris. The materials are sticky, gross, and waste-heavy, and the chaotic studio environment would frustrate any orderly artist. Yet full immersion in this mess is necessary to achieve a work that embodies perfection through imperfection.

My desire to create this subliminal satisfaction is rooted in art history, particularly Abstract Expressionism and Viennese Actionism. Abstract Expressionists helped me understand the subliminal, especially through Barnett Newman’s exploration of historical perfection and Rothko’s belief that monumentality and abstraction access deeper emotional states. However, I felt something was missing—something the Viennese Actionists uncovered.

Hermann Nitsch’s writings describe how his vile, bloody performances produce a release of tension in viewers through an excess of imperfection. This release, I believe, is the missing link: by fully confronting imperfection, viewers experience catharsis. In contemporary culture, this need for release is evident in spaces like hardcore shows, where violent sound, movement, and imagery allow people from all walks of life to discharge tension collectively. This is the role I want my work to play—to provide a visceral release of imperfect tension, offering subliminal satisfaction to those who need it most, and preventing true acts of violent imperfection before they occur.