Artists
Comhghall Casey
Comhghall Casey was born on the 28th of May 1976 in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. In 1979, he moved to Omagh in Co. Tyrone where he lived until moving to Belfast in 1994 to study for a Certificate in Foundation Art and Design at the University of Ulster. In 1998 he graduated with a BA Hons in Fine Arts, specialising in painting. After two years in Belfast he moved to Dublin and has since been living and working there.
One thing that fascinates about Comhghall Casey's work is the total lack of references to the visual culture of contemporary society. For most members of his generation it is the buzz of electronic media, the "interconnectedness of all things" of the interest and the persistent trill of the mobile phone that holds their attention, with video, installation and digitally generated imagery commonly the media of choice.
For Casey all this would seem to be anathema. Along with a small number of other notably young artists such as Mark Shields and Noel Murphy, Casey is drawn to the artistic qualities of an older tradition - those of acute observation, technical skill and meticulous execution. Imagery, too, is traditional - self-portraits, some landscapes and lots of still life?s. But whilst the subject matter, draughtsmanship and execution of these oils recall that of earlier days - Orpen and John Luke come to mind -the restricted tonality, choice of objects and the sense of interval inherent in their compositional arrangement is indicative of a modern sensibility. These works owe less to Chardin than to William Scott and Giorgio Morandi.
Like Morandi, Casey is intrigued by formality and tension. Commonplace objects - fireplaces and peat briquettes, fruit and vegetables, are chosen for their intrinsic abstract qualities alone - they have not narrative or emotional associations for either painter or viewer. What you see is what you get. Eggs, apples, stones or coins sit lone, in pairs or small groups, placed centrally on a dividing line set on the Golden Section between the dark grey table top and the light grey wall. Seen collectively there is a uniformity of design, but it is the intense scrutiny of each object and the tensions set up within the groupings that activates individual works. A muted tonality and an exquisite use of colour to highlight the fruit and vegetables add to the subtlety of works such as "Three Oranges" and "Green Apple".
There is a quite familiarity about these paintings, partly due to the static introspective atmosphere and partly to their intimate, domestic scale. You feel that you could live with them as Casey does in his Tempe bar studio seen reflected in "Electric Kettle" - a latter-day van Eyck or Velasquez.
Apparently minimal and understated, these are intensely focused, modern interpretations of an age-old them. They invite, even entice, you to look closely. After a while you will become as discerning of the texture of a stone or the bloom of a peach as Casey is of his own features in his "Self Portrait". these calm, harmonious works offer the viewer a haven from the hustle and bustle of modern city life - they should be contemplated and savoured - quiet painting for a quiet life.
©Amanda Croft, 2001
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