The Osborne Studio Gallery is delighted to be hosting Cloé Cloherty’s fourth solo exhibition of contemporary Irish landscape paintings. Her subject matter is the dramatic coastline of the West of Ireland, an area from which her family originate and one which provides her with great inspiration. The paintings in this 2005 exhibition are based on a recent trip to the area: Dingle, Donegal, Kerry and Cork are amongst the places to which she travelled. The resulting paintings are rich in colour and bold in technique, powerful images which illustrate Cloé’s affinity to the spirit of this landscape and her appreciation of its unspoilt beauty and timelessness.

Cloé works in situ, making small oil sketches inspired by her surroundings. These are an instant, intuitive response to the landscape around her, its sense of history and the nature of its ever-changing environment. She uses colour as a means of expression, striving to convey her own emotional reaction to the beauty and magnificence of this coastline. She depicts the powerful contrasts of the landscape – the soaring cliffs and vast white beaches interrupted by huge granite outposts which are awe-inspiring, yet also quietly contemplative. The weather too provides her with dramatic contrasts, changes in light and shadow transform the coastline from a feeling of sombre melancholy to bright, brilliant sunshine in moments.

The larger works are painted in Cloé’s studio. Based on the small preparatory oil sketches, she applies thick, bold strokes of paint to the canvas using a palette knife. This technique enhances the energy, intensity and immediacy of her images.

Cloé studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, London before a period of travelling and painting on film-sets abroad. She continued her career working at studios including Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree. She has painted for herself full-time now for many years and is very successfully established in her studio in Battersea. Her career has gone from strength to strength and she has built up an extensive national and international clientele.