Andrew McIlroy

New Works

Masterful painter Andrew McIlroy produces sophisticated canvasses which straddle traditional and modernist methodologies. Studio finished landscapes represent an idealised pastoral arcadia, whilst initial studies “en plein air” allow the artist to draw inspiration directly from nature.

Referencing Australian Colonialism and the forefathers of the landscape tradition, McIlroy’s concern with atmosphere, golden light and voluminous skies also pays homage to the great Joseph Mallord William Turner and forms a bridge with contemporary figuration.

In this latest body of work McIlroy investigates the diffusion of sky, sea and light as they merge into one and horizon lines diminish or disappear. Unerwater seascapes utilize strong saturated colour and a reduced monotone palette, whilst the artist effectively creates subtle tonal variations, imparting a dream like quality to the works.

Born in Melbourne, McIlroy has made a successful transition to full-time painting and has relocated to concentrate on the Sydney market. His fresh approach, united with a reverence for the western painting tradition, produces outstanding contemporary work and yet places the artist in a unique position to extend formal classicism into the 21st century.

As McIlroy comments, “I hope to make people pause for just a moment. My inspiration is simple; to create something tangible, long lasting and familiar. My struggle is to capture 'Australianess' without reacting against European influences or composition.”

McIlroy’s experimentation with the figure too, whilst referencing Renaissance portraiture, evokes everyday familiarity. His modernist interest in form, colour, and the “painterliness” of the surface underpins these works, as it does his landscapes. To achieve this delicate balance of style is rare; to do so and to hold the viewer spellbound, rarer still.