Fergus Feehily

OIL, CARPET TACKS, ACRYLIC, GESSO, GOUACHE, TWIGS, THE OCCASIONAL SPRAY PAINT, PENCIL, DABS OF WATERCOLOR, FOUND PHOTOGRAPHS, FOUND FRAMES, BANDAGES, A PAPER BAG OR TWO, SCREWS, ALUMINIUM FOIL, SWEET WRAPPERS, SCRAP WOOD. THE MARGINAL MEETS IN THE PAINTINGS OF FERGUS FEEHILY (1968, DUBLIN, IRELAND), PAINTINGS THAT THEMSELVES STAND AT THE PERIPHERY OF CONTEMPORARY PAINTERLY CONVENTIONS — WHOSE “SUBTLE ACTIVITY,” AS MARTIN HERBERT OBSERVES, “IS ON ITS WAY SOMEWHERE ELSE, DRIFTING OUT OF VIEW.” THIS BOOK IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE MONOGRAPH ON THE ARTIST TO DATE. IT BRINGS INTO VIEW MORE THAN ONE-HUNDRED WORKS MADE OVER MORE THAN 15 YEARS ALONGSIDE CLIPPINGS, NOTES, AND RESEARCH MATERIAL FROM THE ARTIST’S ARCHIVE AS WELL AS EXHIBITIONS STAGED FROM AACHEN TO MEXICO CITY TO TOKYO. ESSAYS BY MARTIN HERBERT, CURATOR CHRIS SHARP, AND ARTIST SARAH BRAMAN CELEBRATE FEEHILY’S REMINDER OF, AS WRITES THE LATTER, “THE JOY OF JUST LOOKING.”