Exuberant enamel colour and a sure touch are hallmarks of Pat Hanly’s technique. A sense of freedom and hope is evoked in ‘Golden age’ through his dancing, sunbathing and resting figures and the intimate atmosphere of harmony he creates. Hanly’s abstract paintings, inspired by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and the poetic paintings of Marc Chagall, often strive to go beyond the outward appearances of plants and people to represent their inner life forces. His experimental approach to painting – using found objects to paint with as well as pouring and dripping paint and tilting his canvases – results in unexpected and unique compositions. (Brought to light, November 2009)