Paddy Lennon

PADDY LENNON

b.1955

Paddy Lennon was born in Inchicore, Ireland, in 1955. He studied in London at the City and Guilds Art School and graduated with a diploma in 1980. During this early period his style was academic, based mostly in nudes and anatomy. Now, Lennon's work has evolved covering many subjects and focusing a lot on abstraction, his most recent works focus on his fascination with the equine form. His palette of colours he regards as being quite Spanish. He describes his approach, “I try in my work to create some... sensibility through the use of strong colour and by keeping my paintings quiet... I like them to be slow burning... to work on you slowly and hopefully to create a strong but quiet impression” .

Lennon's approaches his subjects to try and find a way to express the effect a particular place has on him. He says “the finished work may not resemble faithfully a place that the viewer may be familiar with but hopefully they will recognise something of the soul of the place or moment”. His work encourages a thoughtful response and reflection when viewed by the viewer. His subject matter evolved from studies of the nude in earlier works to the sea, the strand, the bog these are places that “attract and have a strong effect on me”. Lennon doesn't always finish with a subject of a painting, as a result certain remnants from this painting he will then later explore in the painting which follows, with one work evolving into the next.

Working in isolation in his studio his preferred medium is oil on fabriano or linen. Oil is malleable and versatile and he says that oil “has a direct link to all the great art of the past, the possibilities with oil paint are limitless and when working there always seems to be new discoveries to be made, new roads to travel, new avenues to explore, its this openness in which I think oil paint has an advantage over other media”. He no longer does any preparatory sketches as he feels that it robbed the painting of some of its life and that the very act of painting, the creation of a story peculiar to that particular painting is a thing of that moment only – “it carries its own dynamic and I don’t want to dilute this by imposing previous design or ideas”.

Modern art is often accused of being inaccessible but standing in front of Lennon’s paintings there is a shimmering infusion or colour, a harmony of contrast an interplay of tone and form which evokes a series of emotions in the viewer. As he says, “When I paint, what interests me is its underlying abstraction. This is what generates its quality, its life and its innate truth. If the work can arouse sensations, thoughts, ideas and feelings, and stimulate the viewer then for me it is successful”.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2007 Oisin Gallery, Dublin

2006 Cockleshell Arts Centre, Wexford

2006 Waterfront Gallery, Wales

2005 Kenny Gallery, Galway

2003 Irish Representative Lorient Festival, France

2003 Bridge Gallery, Dublin

2002 South Tipperary Arts Centre, Clonmel

2001 Old Market Arts Centre, Dungarvan, Co Waterford

2000 Charlesville Castle, Tullamore, Co Offaly

1999 Dyehouse Gallery, Waterford

1996 Arte Espacio 1996, Galeria Espacio, Jerez, Spain