Celebrating four decades of the acclaimed artist’s work …
Richard Gorman (1946-2026)
Born in Dublin, Richard studied business at Trinity College but later, fortunately for us all, he turned his attention to art, graduating from Dún Laoghaire School of Art and Design in 1980. His work took root with immediate effect in the Irish Exhibition of Living Art of 1980 and 1981, followed by a solo show in the Project Gallery, Dublin, in 1983. In 2023, after 40 years of travelling, working and exhibiting internationally, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin presented “Living through paint(ing)” as a joyous celebration of his distinctive voice.
Richard’s work is marked by a lifelong commitment to abstraction, craftsmanship and innovation. His practice was rooted in looking – at landscape, architecture, the everyday rhythms of place – and transforming these observations into works of clarity and restraint. His paintings, sculpture and printmaking reveal a profound sensitivity to colour, structure and balance, shaped by years of travelling between Ireland, Italy and Japan.
I think it was Barnett Newman who said, “Aesthetics is for artists like ornithology is for the birds”.
How and where do you work? I spent more than 40 years in Milan, then back in Ireland with a terrific studio made possible by the generosity of a friend, Robert Maharry, whom I met while studying at the School of Business in Trinity. It’s important for artists to have some sort of security in this way, especially as I have Parkinson’s. Dalkey is an interesting place and, to some extent, my environment determines what I make.
Your work pays homage to Japan: how did you discover Echizen and the use of washi paper? My love of Japan began with my friend, Mika Sato, who first brought me there. Then a subsequent conversation with a photographer called Toshi Kasama brought me to Echizen. He had just been to the paper factory there and urged me to go with such intensity that it piqued my curiosity. Mika and I took an overnight train to the western mountains of Japan, where we found this small town almost entirely employed in the making of paper. The paper they produce is labour-intensive and, I think, unintentionally beautiful. The craftsmen begin very early in the morning, so coming in on the early train with them I’d be so tired I was afraid to sit down or I’d fall asleep! I had to push myself to keep going because I knew it was such a privilege to work in this way and learn more about making paper.
Where are some of your favourite places in Japan? In the Izu Peninsula, you’ll find a small fishing village called Heda and Shirahama Beach, which is made with sand imported from Australia. In Kyoto, visit Funaoka Onsen, which dates to 1923 (be sure to read up on the etiquette first). Eat in the izakayas, the food is excellent and they’re not expensive.
I have a favourite poem about travel from the 14th-century, called Worlds:
“Travel. Wherever you go
the world you bring with you
is washed by the world you see”
Originally published in February 2025.
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