Mullingar natives artwork is luminous
Mullingar man Niall Leavy, a professional artist based in Stamullen for 15 years, is busy preparing for his second solo show – Luminous – at the Toradh Gallery in Ashbourne.
Running from October 7 to November 3, and sponsored by Meath County Council, it “presents my latest work and contains a mix of watercolours and gold leaf in the small square format and larger full squares, as well as introducing my first series of gold canvases”, says Niall.
“I draw energy from everything around me, people I meet, the Meath landscape, the lush green fields, the striking seascape from Gormanston to Drogheda with the stunning backdrop of the Cooley and Mourne Mountains to the north, and the big skies in peaceful places such as Tara and Bective.
Following Luminous, Niall will be showing his work at ArtSource at the RDS on November 13-16 for the third year in a row, and featuring in the Contemporary Irish Art exhibition at Mason Hayes Curran, Barrow Street, Dublin in November and December.
Niall has built a strong following for his work and the Office of Public Works (OPW) recently acquired a second painting for their collection.
Niall says he uses colour, forms, energy, movement, contrasts of fuzziness and sharpness, depth, emerging light and space to represent a visual exploration and vibrant expression of a spectrum of positive emotions, feelings and states of mind. That, he says, provides an interesting expression of and synergy between his art and his background as psychologist and coach.
Niall’s art is recognisable because of the vibrancy of the colours and the small squares he uses. Each square can be described as a miniature painting in itself, each representing a ‘positive moment’.
Dr Pat Wallace, retired director of the National Museum of Ireland, described Niall’s work as “reflecting a riot of rhythm and colour, with each piece capturing a world in itself, a mental landscape, a moment of equilibrium.”