THE SUCCESS of this exhibition (it has been almost a sellout) shows that there is a public and not an uninformed one, either for art which is "traditional" without being mere pastiche.
Martin Mooney paints landscape, cityscape and still life, and he does so in a style which variously pays tribute to the Dutch still life masters, to 18th century vedutisti such as Canaletto, and to the Italian Baroque illusionists and masters of chiaroscuro.and with a good deal of presence.
The still life pictures, which virtually dominate the show, are generally painted in shallow recession, and the objects vases, bowls, fruit etc. are often placed high in the picture, giving an effect which is faintly vertiginous. They cleverly utilise the contrasts and devices of lighting which were a feature of 17th century painting, and though they emphasise textures and objects, they are not academic illusionism.
The landscapes and cityscapes are mainly of locations in Italy, including Venice and a number of hill towns and villages. Again, the skyline is placed high, emphasising the weighty foregrounds, and a mellow light plays over ho uses and hilltops. They are conventional in approach, perhaps, but it is intelligent convention and done with style.
With due credit to the bravura touches in the big still life pictures, I found that the smaller landscapes, in particular, and certain small still life compositions "wore" best for me and were the most painterly things on view There is a single nude, rather in the manner of Velazquez's Rokeby Venus that is to say, reclining and viewed from the back (or stern?).
