About The Artist
'The academic landscapes of Hackett's formal work fulfill a sense of acknowledgement to the past, while articulating an honest pleasure in the texture, elasticity and character of his material, paint.' Ciarán Bennett
As a child in the Dublin of the 40's, Pierce was discouraged from his preoccupation with drawing on every available surface including margins and flyleaves of schoolbooks. From his parents' Victorian perspective the Artistic life was likely to include one form or another of 'starving in a garret'.
Pierce describes his introduction to painting at the Municipal Gallery of Art which is adjacent to the primary school that he attended. As a boy he frequently visited the Gallery and was captivated by the works of Corot and other European painters. Coloured illustrations of the Americans, Homer and Remington, became available in Dublin entering his memory and fuelling his imagination.
Another memory of 1940's Dublin is a visit to Victor Waddington's Gallery to see a Jack B. Yeats show. It is interesting that both the Waddington Gallery and the Municipal Gallery allowed access to an unaccompanied youngster at a time and place when children were still best 'seen but not heard'.
In the 1950's Pierce Hackett moved to England where he was to live for 25 years before returning to Ireland. The Tate Gallery in London was a revelation with its wonderful collection of work by J.M.W. Turner and the call to Art could no longer be resisted. Pierce enrolled for drawing classes at St. Martin's and subsequently studied under Leon Underwood.
In 1961 Pierce married a grand-daughter of the Gaelic scholar, Seamus 0 Duirinne, and her uncle Robert Adams, the Sculptor, encouraged him in oil painting. Robert introduced him to his circle of friends in the Artistic communities of Hampstead and of St. Ives, and to the thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere of creation, discussion and polemic regarding directions in Art and the tensions between traditional, developing and abstract forms.
On returning to live in Ireland, at first on the rugged west coast, Pierce was able to devote an increasing amount of time to painting and eventually, by 1993, he was painting full-time.
Hackett's painting reflects an eclectic interest in a select number of Painters. His particular favourites include Turner and Goya, for their overwhelming imagery, and Sorolla and Sargent, for their felicity of style and brushwork. A Celtic sensibility and awareness informs his paintings of the Irish landscape and Hackett often finds titles for his work in the Irish language - Gaeilge - which he speaks.
He has travelled widely in order to see the original works of his favourite artists and visits the great galleries - especially the Tate, the Prado, the Thyssen and the Washington galleries - whenever he can. Pierce sketches on location and has studios in Dublin and Estepona.
Pierce Hackett shows in a dozen galleries in Ireland and the U.K. and his work is in private collections worldwide.
As a child in the Dublin of the 40's, Pierce was discouraged from his preoccupation with drawing on every available surface including margins and flyleaves of schoolbooks. From his parents' Victorian perspective the Artistic life was likely to include one form or another of 'starving in a garret'.
Pierce describes his introduction to painting at the Municipal Gallery of Art which is adjacent to the primary school that he attended. As a boy he frequently visited the Gallery and was captivated by the works of Corot and other European painters. Coloured illustrations of the Americans, Homer and Remington, became available in Dublin entering his memory and fuelling his imagination.
Another memory of 1940's Dublin is a visit to Victor Waddington's Gallery to see a Jack B. Yeats show. It is interesting that both the Waddington Gallery and the Municipal Gallery allowed access to an unaccompanied youngster at a time and place when children were still best 'seen but not heard'.
In the 1950's Pierce Hackett moved to England where he was to live for 25 years before returning to Ireland. The Tate Gallery in London was a revelation with its wonderful collection of work by J.M.W. Turner and the call to Art could no longer be resisted. Pierce enrolled for drawing classes at St. Martin's and subsequently studied under Leon Underwood.
In 1961 Pierce married a grand-daughter of the Gaelic scholar, Seamus 0 Duirinne, and her uncle Robert Adams, the Sculptor, encouraged him in oil painting. Robert introduced him to his circle of friends in the Artistic communities of Hampstead and of St. Ives, and to the thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere of creation, discussion and polemic regarding directions in Art and the tensions between traditional, developing and abstract forms.
On returning to live in Ireland, at first on the rugged west coast, Pierce was able to devote an increasing amount of time to painting and eventually, by 1993, he was painting full-time.
Hackett's painting reflects an eclectic interest in a select number of Painters. His particular favourites include Turner and Goya, for their overwhelming imagery, and Sorolla and Sargent, for their felicity of style and brushwork. A Celtic sensibility and awareness informs his paintings of the Irish landscape and Hackett often finds titles for his work in the Irish language - Gaeilge - which he speaks.
He has travelled widely in order to see the original works of his favourite artists and visits the great galleries - especially the Tate, the Prado, the Thyssen and the Washington galleries - whenever he can. Pierce sketches on location and has studios in Dublin and Estepona.
Pierce Hackett shows in a dozen galleries in Ireland and the U.K. and his work is in private collections worldwide.
