Do Gong 10

Artist Michael Mulcahy (b. 1952)

Date1993

MediumOil and acrylic on canvas

DimensionsEach: 162 x 130 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Purchased, 1994. © Michael Mulcahy.

Object number1832

DescriptionJourneys both to far off places and of the mind are prevailing themes in Michael Mulcahy's work. On completion of his studies at the Crawford School of Art, Cork and the National College of Art and Design, he travelled in 1973 to northwest Africa where he lived and worked for two years. Since then he has spent several periods abroad including in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Mali and India. His sensitivity to and immersion in the colours and psyche of the landscape and cultures he encounters has found eloquent expression in his painting. In 1991 he travelled to South Korea where he spent a year in the Monastery of Ck'uksoam. There he was the student of Su-an Sumin, a renowned Buddhist poet and painter.

Do-gong 10 is part of a series of seventeen similarly named, richly coloured and evocative paintings from this period. Meaning 'Empty Island, Clear Sky', Do-gong was the name given by Su-an to Mulcahy. In order to rid his mind of unnecessary distractions, Mulcahy was set the rigorous task of writing his name ten thousand times and of drawing circles day after day. The swirling, vibrant brushstrokes of Do-gong 10 placed against a glowing background are suggestive of a spiritually animated oriental landscape.

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