Leading a slow rebellion
paul Galligan’s new exhibition ‘Whispers of the Countryside’ that opens in the Townhall Arts Centre, Cavan this Saturday is a new beginning of sorts.
His last exhibition in the Ramor Theatre back in 2024 featured abstract work, but here he has radically altered course, and turned to the Cavan landscape for inspiration.
“It’s an easier thing to do than the abstract,” says Paul as we stand in his home studio in Corratober, near Killykeen. “In the abstract I’m chasing a big picture and trying to catch onto current events or movements in art. I’ve gone away from all that, and now I’m just doing it for myself.”
He adds: “It’s expressionistic in places, but it is realism, and it’s local,” he adds.
Some of the works are almost photo-realistic. For example one of an out-sized blackberry. Even though it is drawn in black and white, the sheen on its plump shiny surface is so convincing it looks like if you pricked it with a pin its juice would ooze out.
For Paul, the drawing brings to mind a cluster of “atomic structure” and “the make up of the universe”.
He detects a similar vibe in his picture of daffodils. Drawn in soft pastels the picture spans almost 2.5m wide and features stemless daffodils heads seemingly floating in a black expanse. It’s simply stunning.
While the Celt steps up to admire the detail of the work in the flower heads, Paul instead points to the black abyss in which they are suspended.
“To get that consistency everywhere – the black in particular - to do an expanse like that in black, it’s a lot of work,” says Paul, who is a builder by trade.
He surmises how the lengthy process of making the work is part of the point.
“Everything nowadays with media is super fast – no one will look at anything on the internet for more than a couple of seconds. You can check our views and see where they drop off. So everyone is trying to get faster and compacted into 20 seconds.
“This type of work is a lot of work, it’s a rebellion against people spending all of the time on the internet and phones and social media. This is a slow, deliberate work intensive process to get these drawings done.”
He confirms: “Now it’s also about looking good – they’re pictures to hang on a wall – I’m drawing them to have a wow factor. They’re not conceptual works in that they’re pictures for hanging on walls, and the art world has gone away from that a lot – everything is flat and printed. I’m bringing the work back into it. The more work you put into it, and the better you are at hiding how much work goes into it, the stronger the piece. Possibly, I can’t say definitively, but that’s a little of what I’m at.”
What’s the big drive to create art?
“I’m drawing since I was a kid. I never drew a stick man. So when you are five or six years old, there’s no reason for doing it other than: that’s what you do. I’m still just doing the same thing. I’ve tried reading all the books to find out why I’m doing it and couldn’t come up with an answer.
“I’m doing it because you never know what’s going to happen next. Every one of them is a new beginning.”
‘Whispers of the Countryside’ by artist Paul Galligan opens in the Townhall Arts Centre, Cavan this Saturday, May 30 at 3pm and runs until Friday, July 10.