Talents of Paul Funge recalled at prints launch
THE IMPORTANCE of the late Paul Funge as an artist internationally and nationally was recalled at the launch of his collection of limited edition prints in the Gaslamp Gallery on Saturday evening.
His first cousin and dear friend Seamus Funge officially launched the exhibition, which will continue in the Gaslamp Gallery on Esmonde Street all this week. Also there to open the event with Seamus was Paul’s brother Joe Funge and his nephew Kieran Funge, Joe’s son.
Claire O’Connell, proprietor of the Gaslamp Gallery, said it was a spectacular evening and the gallery was packed to capacity, filled with many local supporters of Paul.
The collection is titled ‘Resurgence’ and the idea came about following a request from Kieran Funge. He approached Claire to see if a collection of fine art prints could be produced featuring selected works by Paul.
‘It has been a truly exciting project to work on and not without its challenges as it was imperative to ensure that the reproduced colours of each print were true to those of the original works,’ added Claire.
Among the scene depicted in the collection are Courtown Harbour and Inis Mor.
A native of Gorey, Paul was a founder of the Project Arts Centre in Dublin and Gorey Arts Centre. The renowned artist was also the person behind the Gorey Arts Festival which he successfully ran for over 15 years.
He famously brought a young band to the closing night of the annual Funge Arts Festival in 1980; that band was U2.
It was as an artist that Paul came to national prominence. He was renowned for his portraits and landscapes. He taught art in many schools and colleges and lectured at National College of Art and Design. His international reputation was enhanced through his work as a lecturer at the University of California and Kunsthistorisch Institute in Amsterdam.