Galactic Landscapes by Paul McCloskey
September 14, 2013
Landscape paintings have been a core tradition of Western art since its inception. In the shadow of such a rich history of an established form, the modern artist may feel the pressure to find something new to say in this form where so many others have. However, such innovation in approach is something Paul McCloskey injects into his work as he conveys landscapes with a uniquely surrealist edge.
The Irish artist is accruing a wide fan base both in Ireland and on an international stage. In fact when McCloskey entered our Fawn Review art competition this July, he won with overwhelming support for his work from Awakenings Reloaded.
Paul McCloskey’s Winning Entry
Awakening Reloaded blue and gold. 62cm X 62cm-Oil on Canvas
Monaghan County Council art collection
For both the  Awakening series and the follow up project Awakenings Reloaded, he is more concerned with capturing the qualities of the landscape and what they mean to him, rather than simply mimicking their physical features. Rather than aiming to recreate a mirror image, he states, ‘my intention is to evoke a sense of spirit, of enormity through the ethereal and tactile qualities of the paint… to suggest the vastness of landscape, both earth and sky, matter and space’.
The Awakening series appears galactic; with curves and spheres evocative of swirling planets and nebulous stars.The texture of the paint is one of the most striking features of the work; peaks and crests in acrylic throb and pulse across the canvas.
Awakening Reloaded in Umber - Yellow1. 42cm X 30cm-Oil on Canvas
Monaghan County Council art collection
Abstract works can often carry with them the danger of collapsing into a blur of fragment and haze. In this series, the abstract forms are composed of chiefly two or three of the primary colours which give the paintings a sense of core grounding and simplicity amidst the complex and varied forms.
Awakenings Reloaded - with blue 2-62cm x 62cm - Oil on canvas-Monaghan County Council art collection
 
The most recent work of McCloskey, who studied art at both Dublin’s National College of Art and Design and De Montfort University, is The Omega, which seeks to view the Awakening series ‘in the round’ by projecting the images onto three dimensional cubes.
Click here for an animated tour of the cubes.
You can see Paul McCloskey’s work at the exhibition ‘Ireland in our eyes’ at the London Irish Centre between 19th September and 23rd October. 
Click here for more details on his work and to view the artist’s portfolio.
By Siobhan Fenton
Fawn Review editor.

About Fawn Review Fawn review is an online magazine that aims to bring you the best art you’ve never seen before. Founded in 2012, Fawn Review has an international readership of 10,000 visitors a month.
Editor Fawn Review is edited by Siobhan Fenton, an Arts Trustee and English Literature student at Oxford University.