John Smalley
On the North Mayo coast, one is constantly struck by the vast and seemingly illimitable vertical and horizontal spaces. It sometimes is frankly overwhelming…add to that the huge shifts in light— with sun, cloud, wind, and rain in a ceaseless dance over the cliffs, the bog and the sea, and you have a subject endlessly compelling in its hold on both the eye and the imagination. My work with this landscape has led me to pursue it through both representation and pure abstraction…. - John Smalley