HUGHIE O’DONOGHUE: Fallen Angel

Fallen Angel and selected carborundum prints & etchings 1991–2007

May 31 to June 25, 2008

We’re very pleased to present an exhibition of prints, etchings and one painting that celebrates the printmaking of this well respected painter and examines the relationships and differences between his painting and works on paper.

There is sometimes a misconception that an artist’s print is simply a reproduction of a unique work rather than a work in its own right. This is not the case: it is essentially a different way of working but one that allows the artist to make more than one impression of their idea.

The exhibition takes its title from O’Donohue’s painting Fallen Angel 2007 and from the most recent print of the same title also 2007. The two are shown here together. The painting is one of a number of painted constructions made in recent years and the print closely follows its form, itself being a construction. The theme of both works is fading memory, the image comes from the old cemetery of Kiltane Parish in North West Mayo where the artist’s grandfather was buried.

About the print, Fallen Angel, O’Donoghue says: “Usually my prints are made from prepared copper or aluminium plates, however, in this case the plate was also a wooden construction made by me. In the print, as in the painting, I have also used a mixture of techniques, carborundum, collage and lithography to produce the final image. The print strives to achieve a rough equivalence to the painting although some things, through choice, have been changed, most obviously the combination of colours used.“

“The relationship between my paintings and the related prints is one that is constantly in flux. Sometimes the prints closely following the path of a painting and on other occasions they lead the way, opening up and exploring a new subject to happen for me. It is to do with the very spontaneous and free way that the medium works and is contrasted in this exhibition with earlier more traditional etchings.“

Born in 1953 in England of Irish parentage, Hughie O’Donoghue now lives and works in Ireland. His work has shown internationally since the mid-1980s and is owned by major museums,