Richard Hearns

Richard Hearns paints in the wild landscape of The Burren Country National Park in County Clare, Ireland. Each painting is an extension of his physical surroundings - earth, sea and sky - materialising the artist’s experiences and memories of colour and natural phenomena. Born in Beirut and raised in Ireland, Hearns is deeply aware of the unique cultural backgrounds of both aspects of his heritage. Articulated in his abstract paintings, his experiences and connections with the traditions of these separate locations and cultures combine to form a triangular history. He endeavours to express his understandings of exploration, discovery and identity through the medium of paint. 

"My dual heritage has greatly influenced and inspired my paintings. The Irish have always had an outward looking perspective and a unique identity in the world. Likewise, throughout history, the Lebanese people have covered great expanses in order to explore, learn, trade and grow."

Hearns's paintings document a search for an idyll. Meditative layers are applied in a physical expression of form drawn from the rhythmic nature of rural life. His work is palpably physical: his marks are an extension of his arm, the canvases mirror his height, and his energy is channelled through the brush onto the canvas. The exuberant colours of his works express his experiences of nature and its intensity, inviting the viewer to participate in this celebration of memory, colour and form. Only an allusion to landscape, Hearns's raw, indecipherable marks drive the composition to the edge of the canvas creating a distinct language of undulation, recession and space.