Michael Flatley (b.1958) The Power acrylic on marley monogrammed lower right 150 x 150cm (59.06 x

Michael Flatley (b.1958) The Power acrylic on marley monogrammed lower right 150 x 150cm (59.06 x 59.06in) Provenance: Castlehyde Private Collection Michael Ryan Flatley was born in the United States in 1958 to immigrant Irish parents Michael and Eilish. He grew up in Chicago in a family full of champions in dance, music and boxing. Flatley enjoyed early successes in all three fields, winning a Chicago Golden Gloves boxing title and an All-Ireland Flute Championship and becoming the first American to win the World Irish Dancing Championships. His achievements have been recognised all over the world. He has received countless awards for his contribution to the entertainment industry and the promotion and enrichment of Ireland and Irish dance and music. Flatley has spent many years perfecting his art; the seemingly incalculable taps making contact with the surface each have a definite purpose in the overall effect and is thus translated as the paint reveals a complex fusion of colours that could not be achieved in any other form. He is the only person to ever create paintings by dancing on canvas. He paints as he is inspired and has created many works at his home in Castlehyde, Ireland. The dancing light of the sun and moon on the Blackwater River is a constant source of inspiration and the serenity of the environment allow him to hear his inner thoughts. He has a deep interest in the imprisonment of the human soul, the afterlife and the doorway to the parallel universe. It is only recently that he has revealed his works to the public after years of creating. Flatley's approach to his works of art is commensurate with his approach to the art form he is more commonly identified with. His passion for terpsichorean dance is something he has previously said comes from his soul. He doesn't dance because he has to; he dances because he needs to. In exploring movement and percussion he has sought to leave a lasting imprint of his inner self, hitherto invisible to the naked eye. The dance is over in an instant but the message from the dance is in the painting forever. The speed and precision that footwork can achieve makes his innovative method distinctive and the resulting image is a visceral imprint direct from the inner mind. In describing "The Power" Flatley states; 'This painting represents the positive power of the Universe. A power that is ever changing but never loses its strength and never loses its purpose. The metallic gold and silver represent elements of the atomic nucleus. The bronze is the cohesive attraction of energies as they merge in free form'. Flatley's first art exhibition 'Art of the Dance' shall take place in London in June 2015