Autumn 2004- Cork: Brian Harte at Form
Review C109  | | Brian Harte: Circus tricks, an increase in silliness (part2) , oil on board, 107 x 107cm; courtesy Form Gallery | A light touch but a serious intent characterises Brian Harte's eight new works. Harte graduated from the CCAD in 2001, and his work continues its dramatic evolution, from bright empty landscapes to metaphysical meditations. The contrast of scale sets up a fruitful tension: tiny images are drawn, painted and collaged on to small areas, surrounded by big flat areas of neutral-coloured paint. Witty, cartoon-like images - bicycles, balloons, bowler hats, the Sacred Heart, palm trees and a dog - some drawn, some collaged, are interspersed with printed lettering, scumbling and drips. Circus Tricks, an increase in silliness (Parts 1 - 3) takes this to extremes, with large sectors of black, grey or beige paint surrounding small, intensely worked areas. The a rtist as businessman (somewhere in France) , The optimist and Home in the sun , are smaller, but stronger. All share an air of benign bemusement, capturing a fresh reaction to the world out there, leaving plenty of empty space for meditation around the images. Alannah Hopkin Brian Harte: New Paintings , FORM Gallery, Cork, May/June 2004
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