IT is virtually obligatory that Ian art exhibition these days should carry a title, so Martin Gale's is called, simply and unpretentiously, Two Places. A brief catalogue note by the painter identifies one of these as Ardmore in Waterford, which he has known since the 1950s; the other is not named, but presumably relates to Gale's long time residence in Wicklow.
In the past decade Gale had largely moved from his previous, familiar mixture of landscape and figure subjects into still life themes painted in a" strong light, deliberately simplified but by no means unsubtle. This latest exhibition marks more of a reversion to his earlier style.
The dominant paintings are large, out of doors works, usually with figures, though not invariably so; they obviously contain personal references and memories, but otherwise are quite straightforwardly realist. In one, a long figure stands on a beach with a landscape background and a huge, falling foreground; in others, figures stride over wide stretching, muddy fields, and there are two canvases which show youths standing around campfires in a wooded setting of conifers and heather. Greens and browns form the dominant tonality.
Gale has never been happy with the "Photorealist" label which was, if not hung around his neck, at least associated with him. Here, however, there is hardly a suggestion of that (very 1970s) style, or of any Magic Realist frisson or strangeness. Like Michael Andrews in his recent paintings, or like Patrick Hennessy in his late years, Gale is now quite a traditional realist painter whose work would not look out of place in the Royal Academy exhibition in one of its better years.
The small oils on paper contain some energetic, painterly works such as Surfin, Storm in October and High Wind - Low Tide. Presumably they were painted out of doors and they have a kind of premier coup freshness and force. Some of the small watercolours, too, show how completely at home Gale is in this medium, enjoying his relaxation from the rigours of formal, set piece composition.