- Biographical Information
Melita Denaro - 2002
2 February - 28 February 2002
Like Melita I split my life between the urban bustle of London, and the miracle of nature that is North Donegal. From my vantage point on the cusp of Lough Swilly, I look out on the waters that bore the last of the Celtic Chieftains to exile in the 17th Century and to the ever changing face of Scalp Mountain on the far peninsula of Inisowen. I have a painting by Melita looking towards my side of the lough from hers - from the castle at Inch once scene of bloody clashes between the O'Donnell Clan for the Lordship of Tyrconnel. The scudding light never lingers; its illumination changing the landscape from basalt and brackish aubergine one moment to blazing cerulean and fluorescent green the next.
There is something exhilarating and dangerous about being on the very edge of Europe - the inhabitants of the stonewalled fields that overlook silver sands and the roaring Atlantic refer to New York as the next parish: the feeling of isolation is magnificent. The fleeting and ancient qualities of this place, though, have eluded many an artist. Melita Denaro is not one of them - her painting is as mercurial and brilliant as nature herself. She brings to her canvas something universal that is rooted in a moment of sublime observation: iridescent complexity at one with an ethereal simplicity.
It is as if the elements have granted her an indulgence: if you're prepared to lash yourself to a rock above a seething sea in a howling gale then we will give you a glimpse of Valhalla. And here are many, not just of Donegal but from the roof of the world in Nepal, and from the heart of the artist herself.
Introduction to the 2002 Exhibition Catalogue by Sean Rafferty