Main image caption
Gormleys is delighted to present Metallic Skulls, a solo exhibition by Irish contemporary painter Gordon Harris.
Primarily using the medium of oil, finished with gold & silver leaf, Harris' new metallic skull paintings are highly refined and meticulously detailed. This enables harmony between the natural and conceptual, to create artworks that are stunningly provocative and dramatic.
Depicting the skull is not a new phenomenon within the art world. It has been used for centuries; by Caravaggio, Cezanne, Klimt, Warhol and most recently Hirst, to represent mortality and our unachievable strive for immortality. Harris describes the skull as one of the most powerful and iconic symbols on the planet. "These paintings bring the viewer into the distorted forms of reality. Maybe it's also a simplistic way of looking at the human spirit."
Building on recent paintings of his daughters, where foil blankets were wrapped around his children to depict protection, he sees this new series as a natural progression. "It was only when I put the foil onto the skull that I was able to evoke emotion with the folds and reflections of the foil, which also gives a translucent effect."
Regarded as one of Ireland's most promising figurative painters, Harris exhibited at the National Gallery in 2017 and 2018 as part of the Hennessy Portrait Prize. He has also exhibited at the RHA, Dublin and his work forms part of numerous important public and private collections in Ireland and abroad.
Metallic Skulls runs in our Dublin gallery from 21st January- 11th February 2023.
Depicting the skull is not a new phenomenon within the art world. It has been used for centuries; by Caravaggio, Cezanne, Klimt, Warhol and most recently Hirst, to represent mortality and our unachievable strive for immortality. Harris describes the skull as one of the most powerful and iconic symbols on the planet. "These paintings bring the viewer into the distorted forms of reality. Maybe it's also a simplistic way of looking at the human spirit."
Building on recent paintings of his daughters, where foil blankets were wrapped around his children to depict protection, he sees this new series as a natural progression. "It was only when I put the foil onto the skull that I was able to evoke emotion with the folds and reflections of the foil, which also gives a translucent effect."
Regarded as one of Ireland's most promising figurative painters, Harris exhibited at the National Gallery in 2017 and 2018 as part of the Hennessy Portrait Prize. He has also exhibited at the RHA, Dublin and his work forms part of numerous important public and private collections in Ireland and abroad.
Metallic Skulls runs in our Dublin gallery from 21st January- 11th February 2023.