Gormleys is delighted to present an exhibition of new works by one of Ireland’s most prominent landscape painters, Eugene Conway. Known for his realist and emotive approach to painting, Conway is renowned for his talent for capturing the essence and beauty of rural Ireland.

In Conway’s paintings, the landscape of County Kilkenny is brought centre stage. His main subjects – bridges, roads, farms, barns and byways – are what he describes as the unsung heroes of the Irish countryside.

Conway’s paintings are quiet and contemplative scenes, they do not suggest any particular sense of drama, or dwell on the bucolic or the picturesque, but merely highlight the beauty of ordinary rural life. Equally, Conway uses these scenes to reflect the layers of history left by habitation and farming.

His choice of colour palate is fresh and minimalistic, with each painting’s colour scheme relating directly to the weather, the seasons, and the passage of time-related to the piece.

Born in 1965, he moved from Dublin to Kilkenny as a child, and the move to the countryside had a huge impact on his style as an artist.

Growing up, Conway developed a great love and appreciation for the beauty, peace and nature of rural Ireland.

Beginning his professional art education at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, he has since become one of Ireland’s leading landscape painters.

“A lot of the time they go unnoticed: old sheds, walls, barns, a wet ditch after the summer rain, or maybe the way that the light is hitting something, bringing out a lovely pattern,” “But the light is at a certain point. If you come back an hour later, everything has changed,” states Conway.