Friday 1 June 2012

Philip Flanagan at the James Wray Gallery, Belfast


The Purity of Brightness

An exhibition of Paintings by Philip Flanagan.


31st May - 16th of June 2012





                                                                                          Kearney Bay, Co Down





The exhibition stems from numerous visits to Kearney in County Down.

In the paintings I suggest rather than describe the topography of the landscape, the paintings are  a contour of my feeling or response to the setting, an inscape as opposed to a landscape.

I am using colour as a means of expression. Form and light are achieved by working over coloured grounds, patterns of colour creating energy. The strength of the colours is held in balance by structure, which emphasises their vibrancy, but resolves it into an overall calm.

The compositions create a sense of simplicity and purity, built on formal principles of firmness and balance, proportion and structure. I am interested in the plastic space of a flat plane, such as a canvas: perceived rather than real space.

There is an image from Apollinaire that conveys the beauty of light - 

The window opens like an orange / the beautiful fruit of life.


                                                                                                                               Philip Flanagan 2012





Shower Passing
Acrylic on Linen
50 x 60 cm
2012




Sea Wall, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
50 x 60 cm
2012



High Tide, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
60 x 80 cm
2012



Low Tide, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
60 x 80 cm
2012



Reflected Light, Kearney
Acrylic on Board
50 x 50 cm
2012



Deep Sand, Kearney
Acrylic on Board
30 x 30 cm
2012



A Gentle Breeze, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
50 x 60 cm
2012



Across the Fields, Kearney
Acrylic on Canvas 
80 x 100 cm
 2012



In the Heat of the Day, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 120 x 160 cm
 2012



Mid Summer, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen 
50 x 60 cm
 2012



The Sun Shone All Day, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 50 x 60 cm
 2012



Evening Heat, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 50 x 60
 2012



High Tide, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 50 x 60 cm
 2012



Single Cloud, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 80 x 100 cm
 2012





Spring Shower, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 80 x 100 cm
 2012



Lying on the Beach All Day, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 30 x 30 cm
 2012



Distant Cloud, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 60 x 80 cm
 2012



Mid Day, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 80 x 100 cm
 2012



Warm Day, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 80 x 100 cm
 2012



Looking for Seals, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 50 x 60 cm
 2012



AWall of Seaweed Sweating in the Sun, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 120 x 160 cm
 2012



The Sea Stayed on the Horizon, Kearney
Acrylic on Linen
 150 x 220 cm
 2012



© All images copyright Philip Flanagan 2012