The Theatre (Colosseum is down) Painting

I am an Irish artist who graduated in 1995 from Limerick School of Art and Design with a BA Honours Degree in fine art painting. I have exhibited my work in Ireland, Poland and America, where I lived for eight years. My artwork up to date is a visual compendium and evaluation of the tragedy of life lost in warfare, in times when global conflict and economic strife are paramount issues. I paint about personal, collective and universal histories. My work is about the past and memory, and war – or, to use Wilfred Owen’s phrase, “the pity of war” – a theme to which I continually return, as I believe that to understand the past is the only way to make sense of the present. Often of a large scale, my artworks combine painting and photographic techniques to produce a multi-layered image in which the photographic elements can dominate the image or be obliterated by over-painting. This technique becomes a metaphor for the subject itself as it highlights the extent to which history and memory are central to all my works. Through my work I intend to stimulate a dialogue on the role of art in the process of familiarizing and contextualizing history and its cyclical nature. I also think that through the chosen style of abstract expressionism I am able to convey the universality of the subject matter. During the painting process, many layers and films of oil pigment are worked and reworked so that their making becomes mimetic of the processes and understanding of history itself. I always work with specific events and places as it is important to put the subject matter in a real context; however I feel my work can be interpreted universally as a discourse on the human condition and its dark, destructive side. See my website www.paulwoodsart.com for more examples of my artwork or visit http://www.digital-door.com/360-virtual-tours/ for a virtual tour.