“Awayland”
An exhibition of new paintings by Cormac O’Leary
March 2nd – 27th
The Doorway Gallery, 24 South Frederick St, Dublin 2.
The Doorway Gallery is delighted to host an exclusive show by Cormac O’Leary entitled ‘Awayland’. The show will take place on Thursday March 2nd 6.30pm -7.30pm, with Art Connoisseur, John Costello, who will be officially opening the exhibition.
‘It’s much better to travel in hope than to arrive .. Always coming home’ Dr Miller
“My new paintings explore memory, dream and landscape. Images emerge over time, through layers of colour and textural paintwork. I try to capture elusive moments, the fleeting atmosphere of a time and place. Those visual afterglows that quicken and fade in the mind’s eye.” Cormac O’Leary 2017
Cormac O'Leary was born in Cork, and grew up in Sligo. "I was very lucky, I grew up in a house that was full of paintings and artists. I was always drawing as a child, and just continued doing it". His father, John, was a distinguished painter and a charismatic teacher, who was a major influence. Cormac graduated with a diploma in fine art from Sligo RTC, and then lived in Spain for a period of time. He had worked in Sligo Art Gallery, before devoting himself to painting full time.
His father's great lesson, in quote, "Drawing is the basis for everything. You should produce a drawing a day," is still adhered to him. "I enjoy the abstract quality of paint, and I work in layers. I am conscious of my work when it is completed, as I know how easy it is to be over excessive in detail, not quite knowing when to call it to a finish. I find, that in doing so, you lose the spontaneity that is associated with many artists, and it becomes overworked.
“I may look at the least favourable of my pieces, and attempt to establish where it went wrong, however, it is not often that I like to work in retrospect. It is all to do with what is revealed, that image begins to take over".
In this latest exhibition, “Awayland” is an imaginative place, somewhere lost in time, where memories and dreams merge. Some images are inspired by paintings of places that Cormac had visited, or passed through. Cormac was very much inspired by a former residency in Auribeau, South of France. It was here, that Cormac was fortunate enough to visit a number of the inspirational sources of history’s greatest artists. In reference of course to Matisse’s and Bonnard’s Museum, Nice, Cannet, and Cezanne’s holy mountain of Mont Sainte Victoire.
It wasn’t difficult for Cormac to recollect these spaces and locations in his paintings, the intimate warm interiors and the glowing still lifes, the open window and the awaiting chair.
The homes and studios of Matisse, Picasso and Nicholas de Stael were in view, within reach. The local landscapes, the sea sky, the harbour, rooftops, house fronts, roads and walls, were all coloured by their vision. Cormac began to trace their footsteps in the hope of catching a glimmer of that clear eternal light it had transformed.
Cormac's work has been exhibited widely in many groups and solo exhibitions, throughout Ireland. His work exists within private collections in Ireland, England, Belgium, Spain and the United States. Furthermore, Cormac’s work is featured in a number of public collections including that of the Office of Public Works, Royal Hospital Dublin, Department of Finance, and Personnel (Northern Ireland).
Reception Details:
Date: Thursday March 2nd
Speaker: Art Connoisseur, John Costello
Time: 6 – 7.30pm
Refreshments Served
