Conor McGuire
The Persistence of Form
May 11 - June 1, 2010
Reception:
Thursday May 13, 2010 6-8 PM
Press Release
Conor McGuire’s luminous, exquisitely textured paintings pull viewers into virtually timeless visions of his native Western Ireland. Hoping to convey the region’s isolation and relatively unchanged picturesqueness, his portraits and landscapes privilege small towns, local characters, pristine nature and traditional music. In these settings, occasional modern details – wristwatches, camera-toting tourists, electronic keyboards – complicate the illusion of isolation. McGuire’s aesthetic choices reflect this tension between regional vernacular and modern sensibilities, moving between a gentle, impressionist landscape style reminiscent of Monet and an expressionist mode in portraits where the canvas’ edges blur into abstraction.
A rhythmic quality plays throughout these stylistic variations, uniting McGuire’s paintings. This rhythm figures very literally in portraits of musicians, where musical tones seem to ripple over surrounding spaces and architectures. In paintings of streets, towns, fields and seascapes, meanwhile, a less overt but no less powerful cadence develops from repeating shapes, shifting forms and alternating colors. McGuire’s paintings, then, invite viewers to experience lives and landscapes at a different rhythm.
Artist Statement
An image can evoke strong emotions and issues so it can be a catalyst for discovery, awareness and change. I hope the strong cultural identity of a place like Galway will survive the constant pressure of modern living and there will always be that local Galway feel to the city and environs. I love the impressionists and expressionists but will always admire a technically well-produced piece of work regardless of what school of painting it might lay claim to. He uses oils and then acrylics for abstract work. He favors lush textured brush strokes, allowing the paint to convey and suggest form and detail.
Invitation to the exhibition
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Artists in this exhibition
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