Irish-British Province
DUBLIN/IRELAND
An artist who looked at reality
In recent times there has been a
growing appreciation and awareness
of our confrere, John Conliss (1928-2006) as an artist.
John’s style of art generally falls into the category of abstract in both sculpture and painting. It is estimated that he has produced about 2000 works of art. Some of these are to be found in places as diverse as Japan, Italy, Austria and Germany.
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Picture named Nude Plant, 1974.
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Unfortunately some of his most inspiring works disappeared and only some old photographs help one to appreciate them. Sometimes his art seems unreal, disturbing and questioning, especially his pieces which show deformed human faces. For John these images were to be a call to the viewer to discover his own spiritual self in God. John would see this call as a part of the endless human search for the beauty and goodness of God in its many expressions. |
He used to say that creation is a dance of color, light, life and harmony. He also knew that life could be devastating. “I want to paint things as I see them, everything near me or around me!
Injustice, torture and violence create a disfiguration of what people should really be, but I can never paint without hope,” he said.
John Conliss died on 3 January 2006.
Source: The Harp
