Tony O'Malley HRHA (1913-2003) The Cloister of Montregan, Bahamas Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 89cm (47 x 35'') Signed with initials, dated 1/ 1980 Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist's...

Tony O'Malley HRHA (1913-2003) The Cloister of Montregan, Bahamas Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 89cm (47 x 35'') Signed with initials, dated 1/ 1980 Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist's studio; Solomon Gallery, Dublin; Private collection, Dublin. Painted during one of O'Malley's many summer visits to the Bahamas, The Cloister of Montregan, Bahamas is a vivid composition that is typical of his work, with fields of colour and shapes and symbols that make up an abstracted bird's eye view. Here a number of colourful elements hint at manmade structures, from the overall division of the canvas into sections that can be viewed as rooms, to smaller details such as a door like shape in the top right. The ecclesiastical nature of these structures is evident from two Chi Rho symbols on the left side of the picture plain. Made up from the first two letters of the ancient Greek word for Christ, the emblem has been used in Christian iconography for centuries, and is probably best recognised by an Irish audience from a carpet page in the Book of Kells. O'Malley embeds the Chi Rhos in the composition, along with vibrant forms that imply foliage and architectural elements, suggesting the ubiquitous Christian devotion of daily monastic life. Yet the subtle incorporation of these emblems into a bright ground of colourful forms gives the composition an overall decorative appeal that transcends religious conviction.

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