In a new series of still lifes, Conor Walton puts the focus on the staples of life in opposition to the excesses of the Celtic Tiger, writes Jane Humpries
Conor Walton’s illusionist trompe l’oeil style harks back to Pliny’s tale of Zeuxis’ painting that tricked the crow into thinking the grapes were ‘real’. Indeed, the artist has continually used the motif of grapes, referring to Jonathan Richardson’s 18th-century treatise Theory of Painting, that: ‘Pictures must be like a bunch of grapes’ in that grapes tested a painter’s ability to master chiaroscuro, colouring and realism, especially in rendering their translucent, textural surfaces.
The realm of faith illustrated in the Book of Kells can be elusive to modern audiences; however, a new study by Bernard Meehan provides valuable insights into this peerless manuscript