Sean Anthony Winn

Artist Statement

As a fine artist whose work questions ideas of self, mental health, and the exploration of relationships, these realistic and surrealist paintings communicate a variation of self-expression through anxiety, depression, and identity. Through my personal gaze towards friends and strangers, I feel a connection with them on a metaphysical level. Influenced by pop-culture, the mental health awareness movement, and extra-terrestrial motifs, I contrast the absolute with the surreal and the overly mundane through the human figure to amplify the once taboo human emotions. These melancholy world’s that I create confront the battles of mental health in my own personal life, but also in the lives of those around me. There has been a generational awakening in society’s openness surrounding anxiety and depression and normalizing talking about our feelings and seeking professional help. My goal is to further fuel those conversations and enhance self-awareness through various series of work.

Working in mediums such as acrylic, oil, and pencil I’ve been branching out to more visual content that portrays a surrealist drama using more figures, landscapes and scenes to tell a deeper narrative. In my work I often evoke the iconic and the eerie within my portraits but now I want to start narrating real life stories but through my point of view.