gregory seán sheehan
visual artist
visual artist
Arboretum XXXIV | 50 x 50 cm | 2017 - 2023
Contemplations on the enduring presence of mountain-bogland.
Although firmly anchored in the unique topography of a particular landscape, Gregory Seán Sheehan’s work would not be described as landscape painting in a realistic, geographical, or pictorial sense.
For the last three decades Gregory Sheehan has been working with mountain turf gathered from blanket-bogland in Ireland. His deep connection to this archaic material activated a cascade of impressions which transformed his modus operandi and the subject matter of his work.
Sheehan explores a transposed view of a landscape — the focus directed towards both the inherent processes involved in the landscapes formation and the evolutionary and transformational qualities slumbering therein; just out of sight and just beyond comprehension.
» Turf, or bog-peat is a material which bears witness to cycles of growth, decay and continuous transformations. In other words, a material with an ecological, geological and mythical narrative. Turf speaks to us in quiet unobtrusive ways, perhaps reminding us that we are anchored in and part of a very finely balanced ecological environment «
Blanket bogs are not only large areas of self regulating biotopes providing habitats for numerous animals, birds, insects and plants but also landscape in it’s most resilient and durable instance. Found mainly in northern hemispheres, undisturbed blanket bogs have been self-regulating entities for periods of up to twelve thousand years.
Although firmly anchored in the unique topography of a particular landscape, Gregory Seán Sheehan’s work would not be described as landscape painting in a realistic, geographical, or pictorial sense.
For the last three decades Gregory Sheehan has been working with mountain turf gathered from blanket-bogland in Ireland. His deep connection to this archaic material activated a cascade of impressions which transformed his modus operandi and the subject matter of his work.
Sheehan explores a transposed view of a landscape — the focus directed towards both the inherent processes involved in the landscapes formation and the evolutionary and transformational qualities slumbering therein; just out of sight and just beyond comprehension.
» Turf, or bog-peat is a material which bears witness to cycles of growth, decay and continuous transformations. In other words, a material with an ecological, geological and mythical narrative. Turf speaks to us in quiet unobtrusive ways, perhaps reminding us that we are anchored in and part of a very finely balanced ecological environment «
Blanket bogs are not only large areas of self regulating biotopes providing habitats for numerous animals, birds, insects and plants but also landscape in it’s most resilient and durable instance. Found mainly in northern hemispheres, undisturbed blanket bogs have been self-regulating entities for periods of up to twelve thousand years.
Formations XXVII | 50 x 50 cm | 2018 - 2023
After rain | 30 x 37 cm | 2000
At the start of the Devonian period (about 415-358 million years ago) the continents of Baltica and Laurentia collided, giving birth to, among other things, the island of Ireland and a mountainous region known as the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains.
Re-edited in December 2018, this short video is about a sense of place and inspiration. The footage was taken on a visit to the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains in 2017. The objects and paintings evolved subsequently.
Music: © petroglyph-music Ulises Labaronnie | A place in the silence
© Gregory Seán Sheehan 2015 - 2024 All Rights Reserved.
Updated January 2024.
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Updated January 2024.
All artworks, photographs, and texts reproduced on www.gregoryseansheehan.com are protected by European copyright law. No part of this Website may be copied, disseminated, or used commercially, except with the written consent of its author. Copyright: It is prohibited to reproduce, modify, adapt or otherwise use any of the images or texts in any manner or form without written consent of the author.
IMPRESSUM ||| PRIVACY POLICY