Introduction by Kevin Kavanagh.
It was Patrick T. Murphy who introduced me to the work of Paul McKinley. Paul had been awarded the Nissan Art Prize for young painters, as part of which he presented Farewell Chestnut Avenue, a solo exhibition at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 2007. Paul began working with Kevin Kavanagh shortly thereafter, and it has been a great pleasure to present Canada (2011), Operation Turquoise (2013), and now Hanuman, all exhibitions united by a technical and emotional complexity. Apart from being a painter of great technical skill (something so evident in the work), the thought processes behind the work is very sophisticated – so much so that first impressions can be misleading. The always-present narrative in these exhibitions is occasionally obvious, though more often hidden and obscured. The challenge is to fully engage and understand; something which Paul does consistently in his painting. When the viewer manages it too, it brings great reward.
