Owen Walsh 1933 - 2002: colour and light

THE ART OF OWEN WALSH reflects a passionate commitment to painting throughout a life. From the early scenes of Westport to the strong, almost abstract colour harmonies of his later work, Walsh’s career was one of intense attention to the visual world, to questions of representation, to the relationship between the different elements of a work, and to the act of painting itself. One of the most immediately striking aspects of Walsh’s work throughout his career is a commitment to innovation and change, to never remain static or repetitive, and to continually reinvent what his art could be. His artistic practice ranges from the energetic, short lines of his landscapes and cityscapes in pastel to his heavily impastoed, monumental figures. While Walsh’s work is stylistically diverse, certain preoccupations remain constant throughout his oeuvre – close observation of form and balance, the importance of accomplished draughtsmanship, a strong sense of design, and certain themes – in particular the classical themes of the body and the landscape.