Anne Stahl (b.1968)

The prolific and fascinating abstract landscape artist and etcher Anne Stahl spent her formative years in Ireland, where she studied painting and printmaking at Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design, graduating with distinction in 1994. Not unlike the celebrated outdoors photography of Ansel Adams (1902-84), Stahl's amazing multi-layered paintings seek to open our eyes to the delicate beauty of nature. While maintaining strong links with Ireland, which she has represented nationally and internationally on many occasions, she works out of CorkStop Studios in San Luis Obispo County, California, along with fellow abstract artists Carol Paquet and Xenia Madison. Her works are widely exhibited, and are represented in numerous collections across the world.

Schizachyrium. (Grass Series)

Born in Germany in 1968, Stahl's interest in art was inspired by seeing museum works by great contemporary painters and sculptors like the sculptor and conceptual artist Joseph Beuys (1921-86), the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko (1903-70), the Spaniard Antonio Tapies (b.1923), and the challenging sculptor Georg Baselitz (b.1938). Other influences include the landscape genius Turner (1775-1851) and the environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy (b.1956). Since she began painting, her style has evolved in stages. As she says: "Each painting developed as a result of the previous one". She works in oils and acrylics, usually making her own paints, and, like John Kingerlee - the famous abstract Irish landscape artist, she works on several canvases simultaneously, especially when completing a series of works. This allows her to share elements and techniques from one piece to the next, thus enhancing the cohesion within the series. Her overriding aim is to capture the essence of a landscape, rather than simply re-create it. To this end, she works with biologists as well as groups such as the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), in order to better express the complexities of her subjects.

Huia. (Marina Project)

Stahl has exhibited her paintings at numerous solo and group shows in venues across Ireland, America and further afield. These include: CorkStop Studios, California 2008; Obispo Open Studios, California 2007; Dbb Architects, Los Angeles, California 2006; 'Pacific Prints 2004', Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, California 2004; Don O'Melveny Gallery, Beverly Hill, California 2003; Christopher Hill Gallery, St. Helena, Napa Valley, California 2003; ArtStore, Dublin, 2002/2000/1999; Eaton Fine Art, San Francisco, June 2002; Marie Kane Gallery, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2001; SCA gallery, Pomona, Los Angeles, 2001; Irish Arts and Letters Festival at Fairfield University, Connecticut, 2000; Century Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia, 2000; New Horizons, Melbourne, Australia, 1999; Melbourne Fringe Festival, Australia, 1999; Contemporary Irish Artists, Bank of Ireland Art Centre, Dublin, 1999; Boyle Arts Festival, Boyle, Ireland 1999; Rubicon Gallery, Dublin 1998; Great Strand St. Studio, Dublin 1998; Ormond Gallery, Dublin 1997; 'Triennial Exhibition of Paintings', Sofia, Bulgaria 1996; 'Designs on Peace', US Embassy, Dublin 1995; and others.

Globe. (American Series)

BEST IRISH ARTISTS 2009
For a list of the leading Irish
painters, including exponents of
abstract landscape painting, see:
Best Irish Artists.

Stahl's work is represented in numerous collections, including: Hart Howerton, San Francisco; BBC Northern Ireland; Barclays Bank Ireland; Westin Hotel, Chicago; and others. In addition, her artworks have been used on several CD and book covers, including: Beauty, by John O'Donahue: Beauty (2004); Donegal Suite by John P. McNamee; and Epiphany CD: Vince Mendoza & the London Symphony Orchestra. Stahl has been a member of the Artist Association of Ireland since 1994.

Our Opinion

What you see on this page is but a tiny fraction of Stahl's vast portfolio which includes series on grass, gemstones, aquatic, bog, planetary and other natural subjects, as well as her 'landscapes of the human mind'. She has also produced an outstanding series of photographs and prints. A sought-after artist on both sides of the Atlantic, Stahl's dedication to her art, and to the natural world it springs from, is reflected in her painstaking technique, her subtle palette and her goal to inspire us to see Nature in a new light. As other critics have said. Her paintings really grow on you.

To contact Anne Stahl, to see hundreds more examples of her art, or to read her fascinating blog, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you visit her website: www.annestahl.com

Review written by Neil Collins (Editor) (July 2008).

More Irish Contemporary Painters, Sculptors, Photographers

Robin Atkinson (Landscape art) - Mark Baker (Portraits) - Emma Barone (Shoe art) - Julie Beckett (Impressionism) - John Brady (Expressionist) - Denise Cassidy (Colourist) - Karina Collins (Figurative) - Leo de Freyne (Landscape art) - Charmain Fitzgerald (Surrealistic) - Paul Kelly (Plein-air art) - Bernadette Kiely (Abstract) - Caroline Levis (Watercolours) - Bernadette MacCormick (Portraiture) - Pervaneh Matthews (Pet portraits) - Ellen McDermott (Figurative painting) - Zita McGarry Kelly (Expressionist) - Henry McGrane (Plein-air landscapes) - Barbara Monahan (Abstract landscapes) - John Morris (Waterscapes) - Chara Nagle (Subject painter) - Patrick Naughton (Fine art photography) - David Nolan (Portraits) - Megan O'Beirne (Holocaust art, photography) - Caoimhghin OCroidheain (Cityscapes) - Ursula Boylan O'Gara (Landscapes/portraits) - Tomas O'Maoldomhnaigh (Portraiture) - Eveleen Power (Landscape paintings) - James Quinn (Technological PCB art) - Marja Van Kampen (Expressionist acrylics) - Mieke Vanmechelen (Expressionism) - Conor Walton (Classical oil painter) - Wood 'n' Icon Art Studio (Wood carving, Greek art)

• For more information about visual arts in Ireland, see: Irish Art.
• For details of famous painters and sculptors from Ireland, see Irish Artists.