Patrick Pappi Pearse

A native of Ireland, Patrick Pappi Pearse combines a classical treatment of anatomy and landscape with an impressionistic infatuation with light to create vivid images bordering on the surreal. Figures are captured in their most intimate moments, curled up unto themselves, speaking at once of great loneliness and of even greater strength. Landscapes, inspired by Vincent van Gogh, share that master’s vibrant directness: scenes that are at times haunting and other times imaginative. Pearse brilliantly captures the romance in the Irish landscape, fueled by his belief that “it’s one of the last magical things we have.”

A thread running through Pearse’s images is an ability to achieve balance through structural arrangement and composition. The harmony inherent in his colors is achieved in unexpected ways, as bold brushstrokes and strong contrasts become entangled in a passionate emphasis on light. Inherent in Pearse’s work is a world that evokes both timelessness and emptiness — which, in the end, is the story he wishes to tell.