Renowned Irish artist holds Mayo exhibition

Claremorris Gallery is hosting a new solo exhibition by internationally renowned Irish artist Donald Teskey, entitled 'A Wave from the Hill'. 

Running from March 22 to April 19, this captivating show brings together a collection of Teskey’s latest works, featuring an evocative mix of coastal scenes and riverscapes that explores the beauty and raw power of the Irish landscape.

Known for his masterful command of texture and light, Teskey’s paintings capture the shifting moods of water, sky, and land. 'A Wave from the Hill' showcases a dynamic range of works on both canvas and paper, varying in scale from intimate studies to large-scale immersive compositions on canvas.

The title 'A Wave from the Hill' evokes both the ceaseless motion of ocean waves and a familiar, personal connection to the land, as though the artist himself is greeting a landscape he knows intimately. A landscape always evolving and adapting. This deep connection with the landscape and with the artist's materials is echoed in Aidan Dunne's comments about Donald Teskey's work: "Teskey's method is instinctive and gestural. Rather than slavish, detailed descriptions, information is imparted via touch, but never in an overbearing way."

Teskey takes inspiration from a poem by Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist Kahlil Gibran entitled, ‘Fear’ which begins: “It is said that before entering the sea, a river trembles with fear.” 

The poem about a river’s journey to the ocean explores the themes of transformation, movement, and the powerful relationship between nature and self, resonant in Teskey’s work. Teskey’s paintings conjure the pull of the sea, suggesting in their gaze the enhancement of life experience through an acceptance of our mortality.

The river needs to take the risk 

of entering the ocean 

because only then will fear disappear 

because that's where the river will know 

it's not about disappearing into the ocean, 

but of becoming the ocean.

In this light, Teskey’s work carries a kind of quiet acceptance - perhaps even a reverence - for the ephemeral nature of existence. His landscapes are not static - they breathe, they shift, they hold both the memory of what was and the inevitability of what’s to come. They suggest that embracing change - rather than fearing it - leads to a fuller, more profound engagement with life itself.

Teskey, whose career spans several decades, is widely recognised for his distinctive approach to landscape painting. His work has been exhibited extensively in Ireland and internationally and is held in major public and private collections.

'A Wave from the Hill' is an opportunity to experience and acquire Teskey’s latest interpretations of Ireland’s coastal and riverine landscapes, offering both long-time admirers and new audiences a chance to engage with his powerful, meditative paintings.

'A Wave from the Hill' opens on Saturday, March 22nd, at Claremorris Gallery and will be on view until April 19th. The gallery is open from 1 to 6pm, Wednesday to Saturday, or by appointment. For more information, visit Claremorris Gallery’s website at www.claremorrisgallery.ie.