“Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent.” Sir Peter Murray - Former Director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Zuleika Gallery is delighted to be exhibiting paintings, sculpture, prints and jewellery by Breon O’Casey (1928-2011) in its Woodstock Gallery 19 October – 18 November 2023.  This exhibition, held in association with the artist's estate and its representative, Pangolin, will celebrate the bold design, vivid use of colour, simplicity of form and versatility of this truly multi-disciplinary artist.

Drawing on multiple influences from antiquity to Modernism, primitive and non-western art, O'Casey is celebrated for his creative exploration of two and three dimensional mediums and the development of a rich personal style with its unique visual language that oscillated between the figurative and the abstract. When asked about objects that captivated him, O’Casey said it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’.  His work is founded on a series of repetitive, often geometric motifs (often arranged in rows of three, a number he found intriguing and magical – a shorthand for infinity) which he would return to throughout his career; from simple, bold images of birds and hills reminiscent of Georges Braque and Henri Matisse, to his use of colourful triangles, spirals and polka dots in constructing landscapes rich in poetry and emotion.  It was the 1945 exhibition of Paintings of Picasso and Matisse held at the V & A Museum, London organised by L’Association Française d’Action Artistique and The British Council which O’Casey described as ‘one of the epiphanies of his life’.. ‘God blimey’, I thought..this really is it.This is the cat’s whiskers alright.  And that left an enormous impression on me that show.”

"As an artist's estate, our primary focus is preserving the artistic legacy of Breon O'Casey and ensuring that his art and his place in the story of St Ives where he lived from 1959 until 1975, remains relevant to today's art historians and collectors. We are thrilled that Zuleika Gallery will be shining a spotlight on Breon O’Casey’s paintings, prints, sculptures and jewellery this Autumn". 

Lizzie Collins, Director of Zuleika Gallery said: “Featuring works from private collections alongside loans from the artist’s estate, this selling exhibition will showcase and celebrate Breon O’Casey as an artist and craftsman and we are excited to have this opportunity to introduce his work to an Oxfordshire audience.”

"The origins of art are the plumage of a bird" Breon O’Casey