Samuel Walsh

The paintings, begun in 2001, are an investigation by Walsh of what the Art Critic Mark Ewart calls in his catalogue essay: ‘a collision between the theory of compositional arrangement and the concrete attributes of the physical world.’ For, although Walsh’s work has always been unrepentantly abstract, his work is often rooted in the observation of minute details of the world around him.

Samuel Walsh was born in London in 1951 of Irish parents. He came with his family to Limerick, his mother’s city in the late 1960s and attended Limerick School of Art. He subsequently studied at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and the National College of Art & Design, Dublin.

He has made a major contribution to the visual arts in Limerick through his involvement with the EV+A Exhibition, the founding of the National Collection of Contemporary Drawing and Quadrant, the annual exhibition at the Belltable for young artists. He has exhibited nationally and internationally representing Ireland in many countries throughout the world. In 1987 he was elected a member of Aosdána.

Ambit is on tour from Limerick City Gallery and is accompanied by a full colour catalogue with an essay by Mark Ewart and interview with Samuel Walsh by Mike Fitzpatrick.