gregory seán sheehan
visual artist
slumbering -
almost out of sight
The turf I work with has been gathered from blanket-bogland in Ireland. 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.
The particular turf at my disposal proved to be a fiery, expressive medium which acted upon me as a catalyst, setting multitudes of ideas and impressions into motion. These ideas and impressions led to an investigation into this very ordinary yet complex material.
Arboretum cogitatum LXXIVMountain turf, granite, pigment, on linen
57 x 50 cm | 2012 - 2022
Price and availability on request
The general structural composition of my work tends to be reduced, alternating between horizontal and vertical sections of ascending and descending movements. The interaction between these movements are often kinetically interwoven and set in motion with various highly diluted solutions.
Referencing the layered accumulation of the source material, most of my work is structured horizontally. The working procedure is essentially rhythmical. Turf, which has previously been applied to the surface, generally serves as a substructure upon which an animated interaction between colour, form, and content evolves.
In accordance with the laws of gravity, complex and tightly woven rivulets of pigment cascade and intermingle over this substructure; elucidating the underlying form. The rhythmical vitality of the flow can be seen to evoke aspects of growth, depth, origin, time, and transformation.
The work might frequently bring the viewer to unfamiliar places, where concepts like “abstraction” tend to become, more or less ambivalent. »
work gallery
Growing up in Rathfarnham meant that the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains were only a stone’s throw away. From an early age I became intimately acquainted with this extraordinary and unique mountain landscape. In absolute contrast to the city and suburbs, the Dublin Mountains are expansive, desolate, wild and wind swept places indeed.
Within seconds of leaving the road one enters an older, quieter, wilder world of blanket-bog land, heather, granite, moss, turf coloured tarns, busy streams, dense mountain fog, slanting sunlight, wind twisted trees, birdsong and above all, a deep timeless solitude.
Gregory Seán Sheehan 2012
Born 1956 in Dublin, Ireland, Gregory Sheehan originally trained as a graphic-artist. Since relocating to Germany in 1981 – he has been based in Lower Saxony, working thirty years in the communications and design industry in the positions of graphic-designer, art-director and project manager.
In 2001, he decided to concentrate on the artistic side of his creative activities, which have always been an area of great personal interest. His work has been exhibited in Germany and Ireland and is represented in both private and corporate collections. » exhibitions
