Sound Reference II

Artist Felim Egan (1952 - 2020)

Date1981

MediumAcrylic on canvas

Dimensions170 x 169.5cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Purchased, 1981. © The Estate of Felim Egan.

Object number1461

DescriptionIn 'Sound Reference II, Egan has very precisely painted a grid on a slate blue background on which he then superimposed mathematically exact stripes juxtaposed with nervous, attenuated arcs. These linear fragments, straight and curved, like musical notation, poise, pivot, and change direction with a fugitive yet spirited rhythm and silent cadence. By its title 'Sound Reference II' further underlines the musical analogy although Egan, while admitting parallels especially with traditional Irish music and compositions by John Cage and Steve Reich, emphasises that there are no concrete links.

(Extract from 'Images and Insights', Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1993, p. 180)

Sound Reference II - 1981

Acrylic on canvas 170 x 170 cm
Purchased 1981

Egan has since the late 1970s formulated a highly personal language of abstraction which, with variations, he continues to articulate today. The prevailing influences on his work include Russian Constructivism, the paintings of Kandinsky and the ornamental detail of the Book of Kells. Egan's subtle mode of expression continues to be based on the drawing of lines, their placement and the tension which arises between the curves and straight lines, grids and gestures. In Sound Reference II, linear fragments, straight and curved, like musical notation, poise, pivot and change direction with a fugitive yet spirited rhythm and silent cadence. Born in Co. Tyrone, Egan now lives and works in Dublin

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