Hannah Mooney into the landscape
Hannah Mooney into the landscape 2—23 December 2021
16 Dundas Street Edinburgh EH3 6HZ +44 (0)131 558 1200 scottish-gallery.co.uk
Beauty and Truth The Art of Hannah Mooney
Into the Landscape is Hannah Mooney’s second major presentation with The Gallery. Her first exhibition, Notes from the West, saw the launch of a major talent, a graduate from the Glasgow School of Art and recipient of the prestigious Fleming-Wyfold Art Bursary. Two years on and Mooney’s work continues to develop: she still prefers a small scale, her epic subject translated through memory, distilled by the mind’s eye into short poems in paint. And she has gained confidence in her subject, the landscape around her home in Mayo, Ireland: Mulranny, Lough Swilly, Scardaune, Ballyglass, the names adding to the romanticism of the paintings. But Mooney is not defined or constrained by the beauty she surveys. Her deep knowledge of the landscape and constant observation of how the light changes by season and by the hour, how weather envelopes the land, how the sea is in constant flux, allows her painting to become a meditation. The landscape has a dark side: it contains a human history in its patterns and the dark fens and bogs lend the tonality to Mooney’s palette. Into the Landscape is divided into the locations where Mooney has a deep connection, places which will always reward the eye that sees, ever changing, providing a limitless subject. The more she looks, the more the artist sees. Mooney is a natural, instinctive painter who finds beauty and truth in experience. As a landscape painter she is at a remove from much of contemporary practice, but there does see a connection to other Irish painters, past and contemporary, who have been immersed in the same landscape: to Yeats, to Paul Henry and even Sean Scully in a shared tonality, palette and sheer enjoyment in the application of oil paint. Mooney’s particular gift is to combine a fragile delicacy and immutability in her work, the fleeting and the permanent. This makes her paintings relevant today when our relationship to the natural world is at a crossroads. Christina Jansen, The Scottish Gallery
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Hannah Mooney into the landscape
Lough Swilly, Ballyglass, Scardaune, Lough Carra, Mulranny, Clew Bay, Mayo, Lough Mask; these are places I have visited throughout my life. I believe that these places have had a lifelong impact on me. I often cannot comprehend or understand what they have evoked until a later date. Painting is a means of revisiting these places for me. Each time I paint these areas I arrive at different results. At surface level these places remain relatively physically unchanged. However, my handling of paint, colour palette and interpretation of them evolves naturally with time. This is perhaps one of the most rewarding things about working with oil paint: it provides a limitless form of expression. Since returning to Ireland in 2020 I venture out of the studio at every opportunity and explore new landscapes regularly. The longer I live here the more I learn about my surroundings, painting and how to connect the two. There are so many qualities of a place that cannot be recreated in paint; such as the sounds, smells and all-powerful wind of the west of Ireland. I have so much affection for the endless, vacant, un-spoilt fields here. The emptiness of the region brings me peace and provides space for creation. My adoration for certain places and subjects has been restored as I now know the meaning and purpose they can bring to my practice. The areas that I have painted are of particular importance perhaps because they have drawn me back to Ireland time and again. They encompass character, mood and mystery that I think will always intrigue me. I feel as though I can learn from these places and revisit them like old friends, acquiring new knowledge and insight with every meeting. They give so much to me and never ask for anything in return. As a young artist I am still discovering what subjects and surroundings fuel my creativity, ambition and progression as a painter. Into the Landscape represents an exploration of that. Hannah Mooney 6
Ballyglass, Scardaune, 2021
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The Landscape
Growing up in Donegal, Hannah’s earliest experiences as an artist are steeped in the subtle light of the west. When painting a clay nativity scene at primary school, she eschewed bright primary colours in favour of ‘a mix up of my own muted palette; a combination of warm browns, reds and gold.’ This is the reaction of a child already transfixed by the world around her - a connection retained throughout her maturing as an artist and continued use of a restrained palette to achieve dramatic climatic effects. James Knox, Director of The Fleming Collection, 2019
1. Tree at Ballyglass, 2021 oil on board 8
16 x 14 cm
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2. Sycamore on a Hill, 2020 ink and pencil on paper 10
10.7 x 14.5 cm
3. Sycamore, 2020 pen and ink on paper 10.7 x 14.8 cm
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4. Evening, Ballyglass, 2021 oil on board 12
12.5 x 18 cm
5. Light over Ballyglass, 2020 oil on board 17.5 x 12.5 cm
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6. Across Scardaune I, 2020 oil on board 14
20 x 30 cm
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7. Across Scardaune II, 2020 oil on board 16
20 x 30 cm
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8. Cloud over Scardaune, 2021 oil on board 18
10 x 15.2 cm
9. Ballyglass, 2020 oil on canvas board 18 x 12.5 cm
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10. Scardaune I, 2020 oil on board 20
15 x 12 cm
11. Light over Scardaune II, 2020 oil on board 15 x 12 cm
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12. Lough Carra at Evening Time I, 2021 oil on board 22
13 x 20 cm
13. Lough Carra at Evening Time II, 2021 oil on board 16 x 14 cm
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14. Lough Carra, 2021 oil on board 24
20 x 30 cm
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The sky is perhaps the most inspiring element of the landscape, being the key source of light, drama and movement. When in the landscape or studio I think about how I would address the everchanging elements in paint; how a slither of the palette knife could suggest a wispy cirrus cloud or a deft brush mark the motion of a tree blowing in the wind. I think about colours that could honestly portray the poignancy of a daytime light or the oppression of an oncoming storm. Hannah Mooney, 2019
15. Lough Carra II, 2021 oil on board 26
35 x 51 cm
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16. Lough Carra III, 2020 pen and ink on paper 28
10.5 x 12 cm
17. Lough Carra IV, 2020 pen and ink on paper 20.2 x 29.5 cm
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18.
19.
Clew Bay III, 2021
Clew Bay, 2020
oil on board
oil on board
10 x 13 cm
13 x 16 cm
20.
21.
View from Mulranny III, 2021
View from Mulranny IV, 2021
oil on board
oil on board
11 x 14 cm
13 x 15 cm
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22. View from Mulranny I, 2021 oil on board 32
16 x 20 cm
23. View from Mulranny II, 2021 oil on board 25 x 30 cm
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24. Clew Bay I, 2020 oil on board 34
16 x 20 cm
25. Clew Bay II, 2021 oil on board 25 x 30 cm
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26. Rain over Clew Bay, 2021 oil on board 36
20 x 30 cm
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27.
28.
Lough at Morning, 2019
Lough, 2020
oil on board
oil on board
12.5 x 15.5 cm
10 x 16 cm
29.
30.
Light over Lough, 2020
Across Lough I, 2019
oil on board
oil on board
14.5 x 16.5 cm
12.5 x 15.5 cm
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31.
32.
Light over Lough I, 2020
Light over Lough II, 2021
oil on board
oil on board
10 x 16 cm
14 x 20 cm
33.
34.
Cloud over Lough I, 2021
Across Lough II, 2019
oil on board
oil on board
9.5 x 16 cm
12.5 x 15.5 cm
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35. Evening Light, 2020 oil on board 42
13 x 20 cm
36. Evening Light over Lough, 2019 oil on board 12.5 x 23.5 cm
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My emotions and response to the weather are intertwined. I often make associations between skies and minds; I go for walks to recenter myself when my mind is clouded. The natural phenomena here are so powerful, it inevitably seeps into my work. Hannah Mooney, 2021
37. Evening Time, 2020 oil on board 44
20 x 30 cm
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38. Lough I, 2021 oil on board 46
12.5 x 16 cm
39. Lough II, 2020 oil on board 20.2 x 27.5 cm
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40. Cloud over Lough, Mayo, 2021 oil on board 48
61 x 91.5 cm
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41. Light over Lough, Mayo, 2021 oil on board 50
61 x 91.5 cm
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Seascape
There is so much we cannot control in life and the sea is an example of this. It’s forceful and enigmatic nature makes it both a puzzling and wonderful subject to watch and record. Within seconds, the monstrous, endless darkness of the ocean can suddenly be broken up by delicate, shimmering speckles of glittering light. I will always be fascinated by this untamed, dynamic energy. Hannah Mooney, 2021
42. Seascape IV, 2021 oil on board 52
20 x 30 cm
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43. Mayo Coastline, 2020 54
oil on board 25 x 30 cm
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44. Waves, 2019 oil on board 56
10 x 13 cm
45. Seascape, 2019 oil on board 9 x 12.5 cm
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46. Seascape III, 2020 oil on board 58
10 x 13 cm
47. Seascape I, 2020 oil on board 12.5 x 21 cm
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48. Waves II, 2020 oil on board 60
10 x 13 cm
49. Seascape II, 2019 oil on board 14.5 x 16.5 cm
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50. Morning I, 2019 oil on board 62
13.5 x 15 cm
51. Lough at Dusk, 2020 oil on board 12.5 x 15.5 cm
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Still Life
Like the landscape, painting flowers is a way of building my relationship with paint, which is key to my ability and confidence to express any subject matter. Hannah Mooney, 2019
52. Yellow Flowers II, 2020 oil on board 64
30 x 20 cm
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53. Yellow Flowers I, 2020 oil on board 66
20 x 16 cm
54. Tulips on White Cloth I, 2020 oil on board 15 x 12 cm
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There is an abundance of growth in our garden. It energises me and I often set up still life subjects around my home and studio. Painting flowers encourages me to handle paint in a different way: it enables me to learn more about varying modes of expression, gaining control over my medium, acquiring patience and adopting a measured approach to painting flowers and foliage. Hannah Mooney, 2021
55. Blue Flowers II, 2020 oil on board 68
25 x 20 cm
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56. Chrisanths I, 2019 oil on board 70
15.5 x 12.5 cm
57. Chrisanths II, 2020 oil on board 20 x 16 cm
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58. Tulips on White Cloth II, 2020 oil on board 72
20 x 16 cm
59. Blue Flowers I, 2020 oil on board 20 x 16 cm
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Hannah Mooney b.1995 Ramelton, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Education:
Exhibitions:
2013-14 Art and Design Foundation, University
Into the Landscape, The Scottish Gallery,
of Ulster 2014-17 BA Painting and Printmaking, Glasgow School of Art
Edinburgh, 2021
Emerging Talent, Messums, Wiltshire, 2020 Notes From The West, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2019
Awards:
Hannah Mooney, winner of the Fleming-
Fleming-Wyfold Art Bursary, 2018
Wyfold Art Bursary 2018, John Martin
Hottinger Prize for Excellence, 2018
Gallery, London, 2019
House for an Art Lover Award, 2018 Art in Healthcare Prize, 2018 RSA John-Kinross Scholarship, 2017 RSA Landscape Drawing Prize, 2017 James Nicol McBroom Memorial Prize, 2017 Armour Prize, 2017 Glasgow Print Studio Publication Prize, 2017 Dean’s Award for High Achievement, University of Ulster, 2014
New Scottish Artists, Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, The Cello Factory, London, 2018 Royal Scottish Watercolours Society Exhibition, RSA Galleries, Edinburgh, 2018
From The Sublime To The Concrete, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2018
New Contemporaries Exhibition, RSA Galleries, Edinburgh, 2018
FBA Futures Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London, 2018
RBA Rising Stars Exhibition, Framers Gallery, London, 2018 Aon Art Community Award Exhibition, The Leadenhall Building, London, 2017 Collections: Art in Healthcare, Edinburgh James Nichol McBroom Archive, Glasgow Hottinger Group, London Fleming-Wyfold Collection, London 74
Hannah Mooney, Ireland, 2021
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Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Hannah Mooney Into the Landscape 2 - 23 December 2021 Exhibition can be viewed online at: scottish-gallery.co.uk/hannahmooney ISBN: 978-1-912900-47-3 Photography by John McKenzie Photography p 2 & p 73 by Hannah Mooney Introduction: © Christina Jansen Front cover: Seascape IV, oil on board, 20 x 30 cm, cat.42 (detail) Designed and Produced by The Scottish Gallery Printed by Pure Print All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.
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