Ken Hamilton (b.1956)

The Irish classical*-style painter Ken Hamilton returned to Ireland from Nigeria at the age of eleven. He studied fine art painting and drawing at Art College in Belfast.

Eschewing the fashions and artistic conventions of contemporary art, Hamilton employs more classical painting or academic* art techniques concerning composition and subject matter. In so doing, he wishes to "restore some of the ancient values of painting now discarded by so many." A master of figure drawing, portrait art, and still life painting, he demonstrates superb treatment of light and shadow (chiaroscuro*).

Not unlike some of the Old Masters* from the High Renaissance period, Hamilton's paintings - many of which are pictures or portraits of the female form - do not attempt to bare the artist's own soul, but instead celebrate the visual pleasure of the human form. Joy rather than despair is the underlying motif.

In 2006, at the 125th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts (RUA), Ken Hamilton won the Award for the "Most Popular Work" of the show (as voted for by visitors to the Exhibition) with his painting Leaving the Citadel in the Afternoon.

With so many contemporary artists turning away from the academic tradition of fine art in favour of ever more 'modern' types of self-expression, Ken Hamilton's exquisite paintings help to recapture the magic of the Renaissance*, and remind us of the graceful forms of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Source:
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/irish-artists/ken-hamilton.htm
Online Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx

Ken Hamilton was educated at the University of Ulster at the Belfast College of Art. Seeking to learn about the science of art, Hamilton spent a lot of time researching and experimenting in order to learn as no one else had done it before. On the contrast to other painters, Hamilton’s works did not so much portray his own emotions; instead they revealed the world we live in today and what we know about our world today. Ken’s works have been exhibited in Belfast, Dublin, London and New York.