Patrick Hall, 1973 | El Limonar, Malaga, Spain

Beginnings | Foreword

Patrick Hall; Beginnings, curated by fellow artist and friend Nick Miller, brings together works from the past and present of Hall’s long artistic career. The title of the show nods to the courageous nature at the heart of his work, as Hall approaches the act of drawing and painting with a beginner’s mind, an attitude of intention that is core to both spiritual and creative practice. Both Hall and Miller are deeply alert to the present moment, and it is in this space that Miller finds common ground with Hall. Conversations on Sundays in Hall’s studio in South Sligo form a chain of responses, reflections and observations, which Miller assembles in this essay. Previously unseen drawings and paintings are shown for the first time in this unique and very personal show. A long-time friend of Hall’s, Miller offers a unique and intimate perspective on the day-to-day life of the artist, in this thought provoking text.

Born in 1932 in Co. Tipperary, Patrick Hall attended Central St. Martins and Chelsea School of Art in London. Time spent living in Spain from 1966 is described vividly in Miller’s essay. Hall returned to Ireland in 1974 and has continued his practice as a painter for over 60 years. Motifs in his paintings have become untethered throughout the decades, only to re-appear in almost abstract or angelic form in later works. Patrick Hall was elected a member of Aosdána in 1982 and his work is included in private and public collections, nationally and internationally.
Nick Miller was born in London in 1962, and moved to Ireland in 1984 to pursue painting, and has exhibited widely including solo shows at The Irish Museum of Modern Art, the RHA and the New York Studio School. He was elected as a member of Aosdána in 2001, and was the recipient of the inaugural 2014 Hennessy Portrait Award at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Emer McGarry
Director
The Model