14th Jun, 2022 13:00

Urban & Contemporary Art

 
  Lot 257 §
 

HUGHIE O'DONOGHUE (BRITISH B. 1953)

HUGHIE O'DONOGHUE (BRITISH B. 1953)
Benedict
signed and dated O'Donoghue 1998 (lower right); titled and numbered (lower left)
edition of 35
carborundum print
printed by Hope Sufferance Press, London
published by Hughie O'Donoghue / Purdy Hicks Gallery, London
sheet: 52 x 59 cm
frame: 58 x 65.5 cm
framed
ARR

Provenance:
Purdy Hicks, London, where purchased by the present owner

Considered to be one of the leading painters of his generation, O’Donoghue drew inspiration from the lavish colours of Old Master painters such as Titian. His paintings frequently combine rich, expressionist colours and textures, verging on abstract, when addressing a particular event or history upon which he has chosen to meditate or elaborate.

His paintings explore themes of universal human experience, often on an epic scale, they meditate on ideas of truth and the relationship between memory and identity, drawing on history and personal records to create works which resonate with emotional intensity.

Benedict is part of a set of nine carborundum prints titled Crossing the Rapido. This is one of a series of explorations by O’Donoghue of the personal and the universal, combining his father’s history of war in Italy in 1940 with age-old depictions of battle, struggle and Christian imagery. Benedict alludes to Saint Benedict who went to Rome to study where he became disgusted by the lack of morality and decided to live alone in a cave some distance from the city. Benedict soon became famous in the area and was pursued to take a leading role in the Christian church. Eventually, he established 12 monasteries, each with 12 monks, and assumed control of all of them.

Benedict depicts a vast and empty landscape which can be seen to depict not only the reclusive life of St Benedict in the cave away from civilisation but also draw upon the remote rural areas of Ireland where O’Donoghue’s mother originated from.

Hughie O’Donoghue was born in Manchester, England but much of his work is influenced by time spent in his mother’s place of origin, the remote Barony of Erris in Co Mayo, Ireland. The stark Irish scenery with its accompanying sense of tragedy, derived from the days of The Great Famine, found later expression in his art. O’Donoghue studied at Goldsmiths College and upon graduation he became, artist-in-residence at London’s National Gallery.

Charged with metaphorical, O’Donoghue’s works, though never fully formulated subject matters, invite the viewer to immerse themselves in the artist’s thought and working process, ultimately challenging them to confront their own relationship with identity. This reflects the artist’s deep-rooted interest in interrogating the way memory is forged through generations.

Sold for £375

Includes Buyer's Premium


 

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