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Excerpt from Iontas 1997 Exhibition... "Orla Egan's East town Tory Island in the 1930's, is another example of an artist who has worked successfully within a defined tradition

Shelagh Hourahane

Former Lecture in the School of Art, University of Wales and now a freelance writer, artist and lecturer

 

On the wall opposite where I am sitting thinking about what to write for Orla, hangs a small colourful picture ofa village in Co. Donegal. I bought this picture by Orla at the first open Art Competition at the Glebe Gallery in 1994. What I loved about it was the simple depiction of an ordinary village, the church was there, the pub and post office, but more than this the whole composition intuitively contributes to the pitch of the road, which is itself reinforced by the irregular angle of the houses. I know this place, I recognized the houses, and I had walked the steady climb to the village from Gartan Lake. Upon closer inspection the wealth of detail, of windowframes, doorways, the surrounding landscape barely visible above the roofs of the houses, draws one in. Everything about this little picture tells me something about a place that Orla knows very intimately it captures a deeper sense of place.

Chris Wilson

Artist and former curator of the OPW Glebe Gallery in Donegal 2007

 

Orla's new paintings reflect a continued interest in day to day life, events and festivals in Ireland. They evoke our own memories of a time past and conjure up carnivals and processions. These most recent paintings are structurally more complex and employ a more varied use of colour. The result is visually stimulating and jewel-like

Martin Mooney

Artist, August 2007

 

I find the paintings fresh and evocative, original, sincere and very beautiful. They remind me of childhood memories and also of Gerard Dillons pictures

Melita Denario

Artist 2007

 

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