Paul Mosse at the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny

Kilkenny-based artist Paul Mosse creates extraordinary painting-sculptures that evolve from a long, unique process of creation, destruction and rebirth.

Inventive and idiosyncratic, his works emerge from the accumulation and manipulation of a wide range of materials. His miscellany of media includes paper, paint and wood, as well as a range of non-traditional materials, such as plastic pellets, polystyrene, sawdust nails and screws. By melding a variety of materials, Mosse creates beautiful, dynamic surfaces.

Mosse’s unique practice involves a three-step process: construct, deconstruct, restructure. Works may seem complete, but over time he returns to them to revise and rework, to the point where they become something else entirely. Shirking any adherence to some rigid aesthetic criteria, Mosse arrives at the finished product through a wholly organic process, a natural evolution.

According to Mosse, “Many pieces are produced at the same time, where they sometimes join or divide and may be worked on and off for years. The processes (additive and subtractive) usually direct how the final image looks and involve only low-tech craft and materials. The systems and processes push the work into areas beyond conscious decision-making. The end result is textured and sculptural, and can be three-dimensional sculpture-proper, but usually it is resolved as ‘2 ½ D painting’.”

This ‘code of practice’ results in extraordinary hybrid painting-sculptures, which are often immense works, impressive in their sheer scale, full personality, complexity and beauty. They resist easy classification.

MAKE. BREAK. MAKE. is an exhibition of works selected from Mosse’s studio. This compelling collection demonstrates the artist’s great skill and authority.

In describing the inspiration behind his art, Mosse states, “There are no specific references in the work, though it may unintentionally appear to refer to the observed world. It springs from interests in space, scale and the tactile world of the senses.”

Mosse was born in Co. Kilkenny, where he lives and works today. From 1966 to 1970, he studied at the Chelsea School of Art in London. He has exhibited national and internationally, and his work is represented in several private and public collections. In 2007, Mosse was elected to Aosdána, an organisation established by the Arts Council to honour those artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland.

MAKE. BREAK. MAKE. exhibits at the Butler Gallery at Kilkenny Castle from January 21st to March 4th.