"From Ginger Man to White Stag in a splash of paint"

by Bruce Arnold

JP Donleavy
Molesworth Gallery

JACK Yeats talked of "the living ginger" - the magic that made art come alive. JP Donleavy has it, and in a sparkling show at the Molesworth Gallery in Dublin, mainly of watercolours, he traces his artistic ancestry back more than half a century.

There are hints and reflections of that vanished era, so effectively described in his novel 'The Ginger Man', set in the Dublin of more than 50 years ago.

There was a link with the White Stag Group of artists. Pat Scott was a friend. There is a distinct stylistic relationship between Donleavy and Robert Dawson, another member of the group.

The watercolours are witty, fey, idiosyncratic and, in the main, colourful. Donleavy has a talent for watercolour painting. His oils are very sombre.

Three are particularly striking. 'Don't Mind Me, I'm From the New World' is a seated female nude with bluish-green skin and Afro-hairstyle. There is also a moody portrait of a Trinity student (arguably a self-portrait), and there's a fine, strong still life, 'Selections For a Survival Feast'.

Talented irreverence, sparkling caricature, a couple of good nudes, some eccentric portraiture and some strange beastly life make up the show. Dogs in a state of sexual excitement are a strong theme, but did not attract many purchasers.

The rest of the show seems to have sold like hot cakes. Donleavy, who might be described as a latter-day White Stag eccentric, has achieved in painting something of the offhand and humorous - if elusive - self-revelation that made his writing so attractive in that distant period, now so difficult to recreate. Johnny Depp may do it in the planned film of 'The Ginger Man', but this show comes closer to the real thing. The exhibition runs until Saturday week.

To purchase books by J.P. Donleavy, go to
the Buyers' Guide.