BETWEEN now and March the artist Hughie O'Donoghue is engaged in a round of activity which would strain the energies of half a dozen men. A major exhibition of his paintings, Via Crucis, is on view in the Haus der Kunst in Munich - a very prestigious setting. Meanwhile, the Purdy Hicks Gallery in London is exhibiting his painting and prints, and other exhibitions of his work are taking place at the Galerie Helmut Pabst in Frankfurt and the Pfefferle Gallery in Munich.
On top of these, the Rubicon Gallery in Dublin from next Thursday will exhibit two series of carborundum prints - Studies for a Crucifixion and A Line of Retreat. The Crucifixion has been a central theme in O'Donoghue's work for over a decade, while A Line of Retreat was suggested by surviving letters from his father, who was a young despatch rider in France during the abortive British campaign in 1940, climaxed by the retreat from Dunkirk.
Now in his mid 40s, O'Donoghue has grown rapidly in reputation during the past eight years and now seems poised for international fame. His work is often on a very large scale and much of it has an apocalyptic quality, at once flamelike and mysterious. Few private galleries in Dublin could show these massive paintings, but the prints in the Rubicon, though large as prints go, are on a more intimate scale. To my knowledge, this is the first show of his work to be mounted in Dublin - though he was seen during Kilkenny Arts Week some years ago.
O'Donoghue was born and largely brought up in Manchester, but he often visited Ireland as a boy, on holidays. Last year he gave up his base just outside London and, with his wife and family, moved to a house in Co Kilkenny. He is currently building a studio to hold his big canvases, both for work and storage.
Recently he completed a period of working at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, as part of its artists in residence programme, during which he spoke several times to visitors about the making of his work. He plans to return to IMMA later and paint a new series of pictures, to be exhibited in the museum.