Charles Harper
Charles Harper was born on Valencia Island, Co. Kerry in 1943. From 1960-67 he studied at the National College of Art and Design, the Limerick School of Art, and the Dublin Graphic Studio. He was taught by Maurice MacGonigal and Sean Keating.
He describes his work as existential referring to his being and to the lives of those around him. He uses recognizable images to convey his ideas. His work always illustrates a structure and organization. "The language of the painting has to make sense, just as spoken or written language makes sense"
He was influenced by Francis Bacon and David Hockney apparent in his portrait work. In his treatment of the human head the influence of Bacon is obvious as is the work of the Irish artist Louis Le Brocquy. He was also influenced by the Irish artist Patrick Collins. For Harper the actual act of painting is what matters as he sees the actual process as one of exploration and discovery. He says " the process, the making excites me more than any end product" .
Awards |
|
| 1965 | First Prize, Interpretations of the Divine Comedy, Commemorating Dante's birth, presented by Instituto Italiano de Cultura, Dublin. |
| 1966 | First Prize for painting commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising, Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin. |
| 1971 | The Carrols Open Award, Irish Exhibition of Living Art, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. |
| 1974 | First Prize, Duais Na Riochta, Gold Medal, Presented by An Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, Listowel Writers Week. |
| 1994 | Won The Arts Council's Bonn an Uachtarain de Hide, at An t'Oireachtas, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin. |
| 1980 | Joint First Prize, Claremorris Open, Claremorris Co Mayo. |
| 1990 | First Prize IMPRESSIONS III, Galway Arts Festival. |
| 1990 | Awarded Artist-in-Residence Claremorris Co Mayo. |
Public Collections
The Arts Council, Dublin, The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, RTÉ, The Haverty Trust, Dublin, PJ Carroll & Co Ltd, Dublin; Allied Irish Agency, Dublin; The Gordon Lambert Collection; The Late President O Dalaigh's Collection; Limerick City Art Gallery; Allied Irish Banks, Dublin & London; UCD. Dublin; TCD Dublin; GPA Shannon, Co. Clare; Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art Dublin; Ulster Museum Belfast; Crawford Art Gallery, Cork: National Self Portrait Collection, University of Limerick; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA; Cecis Art Museum Latvia: The Latvian Ministry of Culture, Riga, Latvia; Telecom Eireann, Dublin; Pontravera Museum of Art, Spain; Kingston University London UK: Paintings in many Irish Embassies throughout the world.