At One With Expression-A new solo show by Martin Mooney

April 4 - May 2, 2019

At One With Expression-A new solo show by Martin M

We’re delighted to announce the launch of ‘At One With Expression’

A new solo exhibition by Martin Mooney

Launch night Thursday 4th April | 6-8pm

Show to be launched by Sir Gerry Robinson

 

When Martin Mooney left the University of Ulster in 1979 and took up his B.A. Honours Course at Brighton Polytechnic College of Art and Design, did he imagine he would be in the forefront of Irish Painters in the 21st century, spanning a period of nearly four decades.

 

By 1983, interest in Martin’s work had increased significantly and he then commenced his Masters at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. When award winning art critic of the year from the Evening Standard, Brian Sewell, began to appreciate and eulogize Martin’s very distinctive response to contemporary art trends (or even non trends), it simply mirrored what Martin’s tutors and professors at Slade had also found. It was “a revolt against the bucket and slosh brigade, against the kind of artist where painting is entirely abstract but entirely accidental.

 

It is almost like a new form of neo-classicism”. Brian Sewell Further recognition came with the Richard Ford Award from the Royal Academy in 1985 and the George Campbell Memorial Grant in 1987, followed by the Adams Salesroom Artist of the Future Award in the RHA in 1992.

 

Equally important however is that Martin’s recognition is also borne out in the real world of art gallery sales and auction room results. Between the years of 1988 and 2011, Martin held many solo exhibitions, in London and Dublin, with Offer Waterman at Waterman Fine Art, The Portland Gallery, London and The Solomon Gallery, Dublin.

 

Also, in 2007, in an unprecedented sale in James Adam’s Auction Rooms in Dublin Martin sold 73 of the 75 pieces available on the night, even before the show opened.

 

Sol Art Gallery is absolutely delighted to host Martin Mooney's first solo show in Dublin since 2007.

 

What you will see is a collection of his latest work consisting of powerful rural landscapes and exquisite floral still life paintings all completed in the last twelve months.

 

The landscapes are informed by Martin’s recent absorption in plein air composition which very finely augments the sense of atmosphere and presence in his new work. The billowing cloud formations and insertions of unexpected color epitomize Martin’s new relationship with color and form. From his contemplative outpost in rural Donegal, Martin has set out to reinterpret the Irish landscape for a new generation, at the same time, retaining his relationship with form whilst exploring atmosphere and mood with a new sense of fluidity and freedom. Likewise in his Still Life paintings we continue to get Martin’s mastery of exactitude, his absence of figures, his absolute stillness.

 

But the reverence is replaced by the playfulness and joyousness of a man in the prime of his expression. That confidence can only come from an artist at ease with his powers, and for me the Still Life represent a wonderful addition to Martin’s continually evolving oeuvre.

Show runs until 25th April

Fully Illustrated catalogue available at Sol Art as well as a PDF version upon request. 

Click on link below to view all work:

http://solart.ie/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=759