Force 12

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Force 12Peppercanister Gallery Dublin10 – 31 May 2013

This book was published by the Peppercanister Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition

Force 1210 – 31 May 2013 Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

Copyright © the artists, the authors and the Peppercanister Gallery.

Peppercanister Gallery3 Herbert Street, Dublin 2, Ireland T: +353 (0) 1 6611279 E: [email protected]

www.peppercanister.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publications may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, elecrical, mechanical or otherwise, without first seeking the written permission of the copyright owners and of the publisher.

Editor Hannah Brogan

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Introduction

Plates

About The Gallery

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Contents

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Introduction

Force 12 is a group exhibition of 12 exceptional artists showcasing powerful, thought provoking work, in various forms of painting and sculpture. It will include some of Peppercanister Gallery’s regular contributors as well as exciting first time contributor Peter Burns whose contemporary visual dramas, based on mythology, offer an exciting portal into another world.

Promising to be an intriguing show that embraces themes of art history, myth, memory, modern society, life and lost love, Force 12 will play host to a disparate group of artists bound together by an individual identity that compels them towards their intent vision.

Bryan Murphy

Director


Liam Belton Roman Bell and Matisse oil on canvas 51 x 76cm

Belton is a Dublin based artist and member of the RHA since 1991. Renowned as a master of still life his name is synonymous with extraordinarily realistic compositions that are meticulously rendered in his characteristic, cool tones. His approach to subject matter is minimal allowing for a moving and timeless quality that appeals to so many. A prime example of Belton’s work, Roman Bell and Matisse depicts simple household objects that have been arranged in a precise yet somewhat casual manner. The addition of a nude portrait, inspired by the great French artist Matisse, provides an added sense of life to the overall composition. Matisse often made drawings to inform paintings or sculptural work, believing that this practice should be a swift, gestural exercise that captures the form and emotion evoked in him by the subject. Eggs remain an ever-present element of Belton’s work and are fundamental to the composition.


Peter Burns graduated from NCAD in 2001 with a degree in sculpture. He then went on to complete a Masters in Fine Art Painting in 2009. His paintings are romantic in essence, playful re-workings of myths, Biblical stories, art history a musical themes in which people are conveyed in relation to nature and the universe. Minute figures of both human and animal variety live and journey through Burns’ painted realms. His creations are tactile and experimental and don’t strictly utilize paint as a medium but quite often incorporate sculptural features, which inject life into the surface of the canvas. Chunks of old and dried oil paint are added while in another area paint may have been scraped away to expose layers beneath. Wax and other found objects are chosen by Burns to add to his small scale, delicate artworks full of intrigue and imagination.

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Peter Burns Portrait of a Young Man mixed media on linen 45 x 40cm


Peter Burns David & Goliath oil, acrylic & sequins on canvas 38 x 46cm


A native of Northern Ireland, Gingles attended the Belfast College of Art. He began his artistic career as a painter, his fine skills as a draughtsman still evident in his painting and mixed media work. Probably best known for his unique sculptural style, Gingles produces enigmatic works that tend to be enclosed in meticulously crafted wood and glass boxes. Incorporating a whole range of media including paint, wood, glass, ceramic and calligraphy, they deal with issues surrounding loss, memory and the propagation of the species. Citadel II was inspired by a trip that Gingles took to Dubrovnik where he witnessed first hand the physical devastation caused by the Croatian Civil War. He has a unique vision and his exquisite sculpture serve as proof that Gingles is an extremely gifted individual who continues to be creatively original.

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Graham Gingles Citadel II mixed media


Lisa Gingles Animus XIV mixed media 62 x 76cm

Daughter of Graham Gingles, Lisa is now based in Valencia Spain. Her works are small and feminine, usually drawings that are overlaid on reclaimed pages from old books and manuscripts. The results are playful and fun with a strong gothic undertow of foreboding combined with a charming humour.


Simon McWilliams Palm House screen print, ed of 25 62 x 76cm

McWilliams is a Belfast based painter whose artistic subject matter is primarily urban architecture, especially large construction sites which he interprets with a wild exuberance of colour. He also paints botanical greenhouses from both the exterior and within. McWilliams has a great ability to capture large, emotionless structures and pass them through his painterly imagination, transforming them into things of beauty, surrounded by a dizzying chaos of colour.


Simon McWilliams Chandelier screen print 84 x 63cm


Murphy was born in Co. Wexford and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. As an artist she is committed to recording the world as she perceives it and is most interested in the reading of specific events rather than the event itself. Her primary objective is to capture and draw attention to the issues that surround what is on the canvas. In this instance Murphy has created works in response to the unrest within modern American culture. Through peering back into American history she attempts to understand how they got to where they are today. The extermination of the American Indian that is the subject at hand here. Their place and relationship with the earth resonates as a peaceful people who had a harmonious connection with the land until the white man arrived on their shores. The eradication of this community has resulted in constant unrest and Murphy feels compelled to represent peaceful images of what has become a violent concern.

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Colette Murphy Tygerlily water colour on paper 30 x 40.5cm

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Colette Murphy Feathered Bouquet acrylic on linen 20 x 25.5cm


Gavin O’Curry Traveling Men oil on canvas 80 x 100cm

Inspired by popular music and modern literature, O’Curry paints using primarily black and white. He refers to photographs of culture, the media and everyday urban scenes taken from his own, casual collection. Interested by the gap between reproduced images and the physicality of painting, O’Curry uses paint to recreate scenes that connect both the familiar and the abstract. What results are depictions of a snapshot in time, like a clipping from a film reel. They are mysterious but their familiarity is engaging. Travelling Men was inspired by a cutting from The Guardian newspaper that O’Curry had spotted, torn out and kept for almost ten years, commenting that “one day it became the thing to paint”. The photograph was taken in either Pakistan or Afghanistan, the location was not overly important to him. What engaged with O’Curry was the contemporary landscape and the bond shared by the two figures as they take in their surroundings. The image is reminiscent of work produced by the great German Romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich and conveys a strong feeling of companionship yet there remains a clear hierarchy between the pair.


Michael Quane Day Rocker Kilkenny marble 41 x 38 x 17cm

Quane was born in Cork and studied at the Crawford School of Art. Awarded membership of Aosdána in 1998, the highest accolade for an artist in the country, he is celebrated for sculpting animated figures and animals that appear to be full of life yet caught within stone. Persona refers to a mask or façade. The child-like figure stands with their face concealed, encouraging a slight feeling of discomfort for the viewer. On closer inspection however there is a smile stretched across the facial area which provides some reassurance. Dry Rocker is a study of decadence. We see a stout woman reclining leisurely, her appearance reflecting a lifestyle of excess and, although her surroundings are not portrayed by Quane, we cannot help but picture her surrounded by opulence.

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Michael Quane Persona Kilkenny marble 59 x 20 x 13cm


Neil Shawcross Penguin Pair oil on canvas 15.5 x 20cm

Shawcross’ practice is dominated by portraiture and still life. His influences are primarily French and he is considered to be one of the most innovative and exciting figurative artists working in Ireland today. Shawcross takes the time-honoured tradition of capturing still life, translating the ordinary domesticity of an object into a painterly statement invested with character. A long time fan and avid collector of penguin books, Shawcross manages to recreate some of literatures best known and most loved titles in a playful and vibrant way.


Andrew Vickery Caravan, Near Malin Head gouache on card 25 x 36cm

Vickery creates paintings with an appealing immediacy – they are full of charm, yet all have an underlying reflective element, creating a sense of wonder in the viewer. They are painted from memory and function as individual mnemonic devices, recollecting very specific experiences and events. The artist states that “although giving the appearance of assumed naïveté and detachment, they attempt to represent very particular moments of engagement with the emphasis on the feeling of the experience. They are both oblique and yet explicit”. Caravan, Near Malin Head and Tea, Achill make up two parts of Vickery’s 39 piece exhibit Arcades Ambo which was recently on display at The Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity College. Each painting recalls personal memories Vickery shared with the late Willie McKeon, paying tribute to the fellow artist and great friend.


Andrew Vickery Tea, Achill gouache on card 25 x 36cm


Conor Walton Chocolate oil on linen 23 x 28cm

Conor Walton was born in Dublin in 1970. He studied painting at The National College of Art and Design, winning the prestigious Taylor Prize in 1993. After furthering his artistic studies in the UK, he moved to Florence to master the traditional skills of fine art drawing and colour at the Cecil Studios. Walton favours two of the most traditional and perhaps challenging genres: portraiture and still life. His extraordinary draftsmanship and mastery of light and shadow, as well as his understanding for colour and composition, makes Walton one of Ireland’s premier young artists. It is clear from observation just how greatly his academic studies have influenced Walton’s approach to painting. However, although seemingly born out of tradition, his works are inherently modern. He comments that, “Everything I do in still life is done tactically, strategically, self-consciously. I end up trying to treat the painting as a miniature drama, a microcosm. I use objects that have meaning for me and try to get the whole painting to make a statement, to express an attitude. It’s a battleground for me, a way of waging a small-scale war against modernity”. We see before us a canvas that contains all the trappings of a traditional still life mixed with hints of modernity, a combination that results in a painting that is both relevant and timeless and totally deserving of Walton’s high recognition.

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Conor Walton Touching oil on linen 76 x 38cm


Charlie Whisker Ethel oil on canvas 40 x 50cm

Whisker grew up in Bangor, Co. Down and now lives and works in Bray, Co. Wicklow. Having witnessed the violence of the Troubles, he acknowledges the major influence it has had on his work. Sweet and sour images tend to litter his work, the tragic and the joyful. Whisker likes to involve the viewers, giving them a forensic type scene to piece together in their heads. Ethel is part of a series of farmyard hens that Whisker has captured roaming through quite an adverse place, scattered with debris. The burnt out match that lies in the foreground is a constant feature in Whisker’s paintings, a signature of sorts, representing the transience of life.

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About The Gallery

The Peppercanister Gallery came into being as a result of the Murphy family’s lifelong involvement in the arts. Antoinette Murphy is a trained artist and art historian and has taught and lectured on Irish art extensively for many years. She established the Peppercanister Gallery at 3 Herbert Street, Dublin 2 in the autumn of 1999 with her son Bryan. Bryan began his career in Sotheby’s London office, before working at The Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. He took over as Director of Peppercanister Gallery in 2010.

The gallery is located in an elegant Georgian building near to Dublin’s bustling city center, and just a short stroll from The National Art Gallery. Known as Baggotonia, the area comprises Dublin’s historic ‘left bank’ and is associated with many of Ireland’s greatest artists and writers, including Francis Bacon, Mainie Jellett, Mary Swanzy, Oscar Wilde, Oliver St John Gogarty, W B Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O’Brien not to mention no less than four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature — W B Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney.

The annual programme includes a series of solo exhibitions and Group Shows. Gallery artists include the following: Liam Belton RHA, Neil Shawcross RUA, RHA, Breon O’Casey, Abigail O’Brien RHA, Charlie Whisker, John Bellany, Deirdre McLoughlin, Sonja Landweer, Anne Donnelly, Graham Gingles, RUA. Joseph O’Connor, Sarah Longley, Ann Griffin-Bernstorff, Robert Janz, Brian Ballard, RUA. Liam Roberts, and Albert Irvin RA. Works by the following artists are also featured regularly in the Gallery: Mary Swanzy, HRHA. Evie Hone, HRHA. Mainie Jellett, Tony O’Malley, HRHA. Gerard Dillon, Louis le Brocquy, HRHA. Patrick Scott, HRHA. Camille Souter, HRHA. Basil Blackshaw, HRHA.

Peppercanister Gallery

3 Herbert Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

T: +353 (0) 1 6611279. E: [email protected]

W: www.peppercanister.com

Force 12

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