{"id":418295,"date":"2025-09-12T11:16:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T11:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/418295\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T11:16:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T11:16:17","slug":"katherine-mcmahons-neon-sign-paintings-glow-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/418295\/","title":{"rendered":"Katherine McMahon\u2019s Neon Sign Paintings Glow in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

This October 10 to 19, the artist\u2019s neon sign paintings are exhibited alongside their 3D counterparts at God\u2019s Own Junkyard<\/p>\n

\"GirlsCourtesy of Katherine McMahon<\/p>\n

A neon sign, once a futuristic, colorful communication device in its heyday, now might evoke a sense of cozy warmth and nostalgia. Multidisciplinary artist Katherine McMahon<\/a> captures this feeling in \u201cOpen Late,\u201d her series of neon sign paintings on display at God\u2019s Own Junkyard<\/a> in London, this 10 to 19 October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m intrigued by nostalgia as well as the idea of things in slow decline \u2014 and the way things go from being signifiers of the future to cultural artifacts,\u201d McMahon, who\u2019s also a photographer, says. The first commercial neon sign was used at a Paris barber shop in 1912, then the technology took off over the mid-century decades, quickly becoming a ubiquitous (and literal) sign of the times. \u201cNeon signs are interesting territory to explore as they hit this sweet spot when they were introduced, representing technological advancement and futurism but [they] were also really aesthetically beautiful, seductive messaging devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ACourtesy of Katherine McMahon<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Own Junkyard, based in the Walthamstow section of London since 2004, is a gallery exclusively dedicated to the craft, wonder and creative usage of neon signs. Founded by the late neon artist Chris Bracey, the maximalist space houses Europe\u2019s largest collection of vintage neon signs, displaying over 1,000 pieces ranging from Hollywood set pieces, handmade refurbished works and even iconic strip club signage.<\/p>\n

\"KatherineCourtesy of Katherine McMahon<\/p>\n

McMahon said when she visited God\u2019s Own Junkyard, she \u201cfelt warm inside being in the presence of these signs, and that\u2019s something LED lighting could never do. There\u2019s a complexity and richness to seeing these signs together in one place.\u201d As for choosing neon signage as the subject matter for her paintings, \u201cI thought it would be interesting to explore the inverted symbology and psychological effect of presenting the contrast of representations of the neon sign via the two-dimensional, flattened medium of painting,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"OpenCourtesy of Katherine McMahon<\/p>\n

The concept of \u201cOpen Late\u201d was borne out of a series of American diner paintings McMahon made in 2020. Compositions like a graphic stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup, a gleaming chrome stool and, yes, a neon sign that reads \u201cOPEN 24 HOURS\u201d were displayed in an actual New York diner with works visible through its wide windows \u2014 a creative workaround during the pandemic\u2019s social distancing restrictions. It\u2019s only fitting that this collection of neon sign paintings will be physically installed in London\u2019s ultimate neon sign playground.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Vintage,Courtesy of Katherine McMahon<\/p>\n

As technology advanced over the second half of the 20th century, most neon signs were eventually replaced with more efficient, mass-produced LED lights. \u201cI think the idea of a future that society envisioned in the past but was never realized really connected to the ways I wanted to explore the neon signs conceptually,\u201d Mc Mahon says. \u201cLike the internet, neon signs were once considered a threshold technology and they altered the way people experienced and moved through the world.\u201d <\/p>\n

She views the iconic neon sign as a \u201cconceptually rich framework for exploring how our primal needs probably haven\u2019t changed much, but in the context of consumerism, the ways we experience those feelings and essentially connect to our senses has shifted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOpen Late\u201d is exhibiting from 10 to 19 October, 2025 at God\u2019s Own Junkyard in London. The opening reception is from 6 to 8 pm on 10 October.<\/p>\n

Katherine McMahon\u2019s Neon Sign Paintings Glow in London<\/p>\n

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