Hugh Lane Gallery has a remarkable collection of paintings by Irish artist Sean Scully for you to discover and enjoy.
Born in Dublin in 1945, Scully, one of the most internationally renowned contemporary artists, retains a special affection for the city of his birth. In 2006, he generously donated to the Hugh Lane Gallery, a suite of paintings spanning his career from 1987 to 2015 which reveal the evolving concerns in his work.
His richly coloured and textured geometric compositions are both formal and sensual. These large paintings of great depth and luminosity evoke an emotional as well as an intellectual response.
This communicative power in Scully’s work, what he calls romantic, comes from revealing the process by which the work has come into being; surfaces painted and overpainted, first and later colour layers clearly visible in the completed work. They are robust and forthright yet also convey a certain vulnerability.
Scully is a master of abstract art, using colour and structure to create paintings, prints, and sculptures that harmonise idea with form in bold colour schemes evoking imaginative and emotional responses from the viewer. His recent gift of Landlines and Robes, a series of ten aquatints reveal luxuriant velvety surfaces demonstrating his mastery of printmaking.
From left to right: Sean Scully room, installation view of The Fifty. Hugh Lane Gallery.
From left to right: Sean Scully room, installation view of Wall of Light Orange Yellow and Arrest. Hugh Lane Gallery.
Sean Scully room, installation view of Arrest, Landlines and Robes, Landline Gray and Wall of Light Alba. Hugh Lane Gallery.
Sean Scully room, installation view of Arrest, Landlines and Robes (Landlines), Landline Gray, Wall of Light Alba and Landlines and Robes (Robes). Hugh Lane Gallery.
