Felim Egan was born in Co. Donegal in 1952. An orphan from a young age, he was adopted by Martin and Maisie Egan. Their generosity made empathy (for orphans, refugees and other forgotten communities) an important part of Felim’s artistic and social life. He was a student at the Belfast School of Art (1971), Portsmouth Polytechnic, the Slade School of Art in London (1975-1977), and spent a scholarship year at the British School at Rome (1980). Egan took these formative years to develop an intimate vocabulary with universal appeal and potential. This experience was later shared with the following generation, with Egan teaching painting at the National College of Art and Design.
The intangible and vaporous quality of his monochromatic work and background is the result of his technique, which consists of building up colour by applying layer after layer of thin acrylic mixed with powdered stone. No words properly describe the abstract compositions of the Irish painter, but ‘maps’ tend to come to mind when assessing his work. As to what is being mapped out by Egan’s hieroglyphic coordinates, who knows? Constellations, yet undiscovered micro-civilisations, the unreal? His geometric vernacular leaves space for one’s imagination to come up with an infinite number of answers and theories.
Through abstraction, emphasis is put on universality and emotional weight. Technically, the artist worked on a flat table to be able to turn around the artwork as it is being produced. Accumulating perspectives in this way introduced an uncertainty, incidents and accidents Egan enjoyed resolving, as they forced him to free himself from preconceptions. To capture chaos, it was important for the artist to employ it as a methodological process.
Ireland chose Egan to represent them at the 1980 Paris Biennale and 1985 Sao Paulo Biennale. Other accolades include prizes such as the Premier UNESCO Prize for the Arts in Paris (1993), and the Gold Award at Cagnes-sur-Mer (1997).
Among his most notable exhibitions one can include the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin from 1995-96, and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1999.
Egan passed away in 2020.
