JOE HOGAN LEARNING FROM THE EARTH FROM THE GREENHOUSE
LEARNING FROM THE EARTH JOE HOGAN 4 - 28 A P R I L 2018
The Scottish Gallery presents Learning From The Earth - new willow work from traditional basketmaker and fine artist Joe Hogan. Joe has worked from his studio in Loch na Fooey in West Ireland since 1978. He grows his own willow and harvests other naturally occurring materials such as wood, bark, larch, birch, bog myrtle twigs, willow twigs and catkins that he incorporates in his work. Joe Hogan is regarded as one of Ireland’s master craftsmen and has gained a worldwide reputation for his work.
THE
SCOTTISH
GALLERY
CONTEMPORARY ART SINCE 1842
Left: Joe Hogan’s house overlooking Loch na Fooey, Ireland, 2017
JOE HOGAN
b. 1953
Joe Hogan is first and foremost a traditional basketmaker and fine artist. He has worked from his studio in Loch na Fooey in West Ireland since 1978. He grows his own willow and harvests other naturally occurring materials such as wood, bark, larch, birch, bog myrtle twigs, willow twigs and catkins that he incorporates in his work. Joe Hogan is regarded as one of Ireland’s master craftsmen and has gained a worldwide reputation for his work. ‘I was drawn to basketmaking because willow growing provided an opportunity to live rurally and develop a real understanding for a particular place. Over the last thirty years, I have found it a very satisfying occupation. I take some time each year to try new ideas and to make new designs but I also value repetition and the fluency it develops. You learn to be patient, to work in the present moment and to not prejudge the outcome. For the past ten years or so I have become increasingly interested in making non-functional baskets, some of which involve the use of found pieces of wood. This work is prompted by a desire to develop a deeper connection to the natural world.’ - Joe Hogan
Left: Joe Hogan in his studio in Loch na Fooey, Ireland making a Tall Vessel photo: Peter Rowen, courtesy of Design & Crafts Council of Ireland
Tall Vessel I, 2018 willow H80 x W54 cms £510 Tall Vessel II, 2018 willow H90 x W58 cms £560
Fitched Log Basket, 2018 willow H46 x W58 cms £325 Medium Kerry Hamper, 2018 willow H61 x W67 cms £325
Curved Log Basket, 2018 willow H54 x W50 cms £310
‘Skibs are based on traditonal baskets which were used for straining and serving potatoes. They could be classed as traditional baskets but I show them here to draw attention to the changes that have been made from the more traditional ones. Apart from the obvious difference regarding colour as a result of selecting different varieties of willow there are several changes to the traditional design. Amongst these would be the use of a wale put on over the outstretched uprights to form a strong rim and the use of 40 uprights to give a more rounded shape.’ Joe Hogan, Bare Branches Blue Black Sky, 2011.
Selection of Skibs, 2018 willow D35 - 100 cms £95 - £525
Birch Vessel I, 2018 birch H35 x W50 cms £630 Birch Vessel II, 2018 birch H46 x W40 cms £245
‘These nests probably had their beginning with the reading of a poem, Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver which concludes with the observation that the world is constantly offering itself to our imagination announcing our place “in the family of things”. My imagination had also become snagged on a wonderful image from W.B. Yeats, “that the mountain grass cannot but keep the form where the mountain hare has lain”. In fact I was so struck by that last image of a nest or resting place, both sheltering and alive, that I had gathered some old heather stalks with a possible idea of making a large nest of heather stalks and purple moor grass but the project did not progress beyond the gathering of the material. That it took several years between the engagement with these images and the making of nests should probably not be a surprise. Many ideas gestate slowly but I re-read Wild Geese several times and began to focus more closely on the final lines and to use them as a starting point for wondering what being fully at home in this world feels like.’ Joe Hogan, Learning From The Earth, 2018
Nests, 2017-2018 willow, lichen, Reindeer Moss £80 - £130
Nests, 2017-2018 willow, lichen, Reindeer Moss ÂŁ70 - ÂŁ140
Medium Birch Nest with Reindeer Moss, 2017 H15 x W27 x D25 cms ÂŁ90
Bud Chain VII, 2017 oxidised silver, paint L120 cms £900
Whitethorn Pouch, 2018 willow, whitethorn H38 x W60 x D28 cms £1,365
Gorse Wood Pouch, 2018 willow, gorse wood £2,535
Reclining Pod I (with One Stone), 2017 willow, weathered ash, field stone H60 x W35 x D35 cms £1,190 Reclining Pod II (with Two Stones black and white), 2017 willow, stones H52 x W32 x D32 cms £1,020
Purple/Blue Catkin Bowl, 2018 willow, pussy willow £455
Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition: LEARNING FROM THE EARTH JOE HOGAN 4 - 29 APRIL 2018 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.
THE
SCOTTISH
GALLERY
CONTEMPORARY ART SINCE 1842
Right: Loch na Fooey, Ireland, 2017
THE
SCOTTISH
GALLERY
CONTEMPORARY ART SINCE 1842