A gifted colourist, Richard Gorman is best known for his paintings and works on paper exploring the dynamic interplay between geometric forms. Infused with a sense of vitality, Gorman’s offbeat shapes appear mobile – as if floating past, wiggling around or colliding with one another, like dancers in motion. Often graced with a subtly playful or humorous undertone, their generosity of spirit is enhanced by a striking colour palette, varying from meditative blues to piquant acid tones. Gorman’s approach to painting has been guided by the places he has visited and been influenced by: Milan, where he has lived on/off for many years, and Japan, home to the family-run paper factory he has visited to produce his handmade kozo washi paper for over 30 years. His works on paper offer a delicacy and fragility in counterpoint to his more robust oils on canvas, but both strands of Gorman’s practice draw their power from the compositional tension between boldly simplified blocks of colour.
Richard Gorman lives and works in Dublin and Milan.
Richard Gorman
Untitled, 2003
dye on handmade Echizen kozo washi paper, 9 elements
each 50 x 63 cm / 19.7 x 24.8 in approx.
Richard Gorman
Untitled 7, 2015
dye on handmade Echizen kozo washi paper
107 x 100 cm /42.1 x 39.4 in
Richard Gorman
All Wall (balls, coloured), 2013
handmade Echizen kozo washi paper, 36 elements total
each sheet unframed 63 x 49 cm / 24.8 x 19.3 in
installed dimensions of 28 elements 380 x 295 cm
Richard Gorman
Untitled, 2014
dye on handmade Echizen kozo washi paper
190 x 99 cm / 74.8 x 39 in paper size
Richard Gorman
All Wall (balls white & grey) 2013
handmade Echizen kozo washi paper, 16 elements
each sheet 63 x 49 cm / 24.8 x 19.3 in
installed dimensions 252 x 196 cm
Richard Gorman
Untitled, 2014
dye on handmade Echizen kozo washi paper
190 x 99 cm / 74.8 x 39 in paper size
The MAC, Belfast, 2014
Richard Gorman’s work has been exhibited at The Drawing Centre, New York; Berkeley Art Museum, California; Barbican Centre, London; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Mitaka City Gallery of Art and Ashikaga City Museum of Art in Japan; The MAC, Belfast; the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin. Forthcoming exhibitions include Villa Croce & Museum Chiossone, Genoa (2024). Recent solo exhibitions include Living through Paint(ing), at The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin (2023). Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (2020); Chigasaki Museum, Japan (2019); Limerick City Gallery of Art, Ireland (2017); Castletown House, Co. Kildare, Ireland (2016). Recent group exhibitions include The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (2021). Gorman’s work is represented in the collections of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Crawford Art Gallery, Cork; Josef and Anni Albers Foundation; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Japan; Centre of Contemporary Graphic Art, Fukishima, Japan and New York Public Library.
Chigasaki Museum, Japan, 2019
Richard Gorman
Keijo / Emotional Geometry, 2019
Chigasaki Museum, Japan
Richard Gorman
Buzz and Hum, 2017
Limerick City Gallery of Art, Ireland
Richard Gorman
CASA, 2016
Castletown House, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Richard Gorman
KIN, 2014
MAC, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Richard Gorman
Richard Gorman, Paintings and Prints, 2010
Mitaka City Gallery of Art, Tokyo; Ashikaga City Gallery of Art, Japan
Richard Gorman
Paintings and Paper Works, 2003
Koriyama City Museum of Art Koriyama, Japan
Richard Gorman describes the process behind his works on kozo washi paper, in collaboration with the Iwano Paper Mill in Japan.
KIN, Richard Gorman at The MAC, Belfast
A film by Judith Du Pasquier
Join us at 12 noon on Saturday 22 February for a walkthrough of Richard Gorman's exhibition Japan.
A strong history of philanthropy is celebrated at The Hugh Lane Gallery. Works by Richard Gorman, Elizabeth Magill, Brian Maguire and Sean Scully are exhibited alongside the museum's founding donation, which includes works by Manet, Monet, Degas, Corot and Courbet.
Richard Gorman's acclaimed solo exhibition Living through Paint(ing) travels to Villa Croce & Museum E. Chiossone, Genoa in 2024. Now extended to 5 May 2024.
The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin presents Living through paint(ing), Richard Gorman’s first museum solo show in his hometown.
