Adam's IMPORTANT IRISH ART 1st June 2022

54 33 TONY O’MALLEY HRHA (1913-2003) Arrieta-Orzola (Lanzarote) Oil on board, 91.5 x 122cm (36 x 48’’) Signed and dated (19)’88; also signed, inscribed and dated 1988 Provenance: With Taylor Galleries, Dublin, label verso. Literature: Brian Lynch, ‘Tony O’Malley’, published by Scholar Press in association with Butler Gallery, 1996, p.235. The image was used to illustrate an Irish 44p stamp as part of the Europa Contemporary Art Series of stamps, 1993. As a self-taught artist Tony O’Malley’s work did not fit with the prevailing and more traditional styles of Ireland in the 1950s. His initial training and then subsequent relocation to St Ives provided him with an important artistic community with whom he could share ideas and draw inspiration. Much is already known about O’Malley’s ill health and need for a warmer climate which provided the subject matter number of works of the Canary Islands and the Bahamas. While rejecting the term ‘abstract’ in order to describe his works, he recognised his paintings as non-figurative, devoid of objects or people. They were instead reflections of his experiences in nature, obser- vations of what he had witnessed and felt at the time. They are deeply emotive, lyrical and energetic expressions of the world around us. O’Malley used a range of visual signifiers that often appear across different works, repeated symbols and marks made on the canvas. As in this instance, he is using the end of the brush to scratch lines into the red paint. They draw the eye to the texture of the painted surface but also may suggest the wings of a large bird soaring in the sky overhead. This potential viewpoint looking down on the dark red sands of the island, the distinctive red ochre colour caused by various volcanic eruptions, changes our perspective of the composition. We can see how he uses colour and shape to delineate the different sections of the landscape. The pinks and greens on the edges of the canvas, as flowers and foliage, the dark blue at the bottom, possibly a small rock pool on the beach. This darker colour palette creates a greater depth of tone and exudes a warmth that is often absent in his other works. Throughout his career he made a series of works based on Lanzarote, a place he often visited with his wife Jane in the winter months of the year. This example takes inspiration from the small costal village of Arrieta located in the northern most townland of the Island. Its verdant sub-tropi- cal climate is populated by Canary Island date palms, ferns and wild olive trees. There is vibrancy and warmth coming from the painting. Gestural shifts in the composition, introducing small sections of colour, varying shapes and lines make the work vi- brate with movement. Something is taking flight soaring above us or swimming just beneath the surface of the water. There is a liveliness to his Lanzarote works with his depictions of the landscape here evoking a magical atmosphere by which we get swept up in. € 25,000 - 35,000