A Gentle man: A retrospect of Ken O’ Hare 

A Gentle man : A retrospect of Ken O’ Hare

Bridewell Studios & Gallery
101 Prescot St Liverpool L7 8UL

23rd January opening night 6-9 to

24th – 31st Jan 12-5 2026

For Kenneth O’Hare, the modern city was a site of deep meditation. He looked past urban noise to find a profound silence in the structures that tower against the horizon. His work was a lifelong study of this unique geometry: the horizontal and vertical lines of a landscape defined by steel skeletons soaring skyward. He drew inspiration from the historical evolution of the skyscraper, particularly the era when cities like New York and Chicago competed to push architectural design forward through a race for height and scale.

O’Hare’s practice was characterised by a peaceful exploration of the tension between nature and artifice. He was fascinated by the way technology pushed glass to its limits, creating the transparent skins of the structures where people live and work.
Within his paintings, he captured the pulse of daily life with a quiet sensitivity.

He placed the familiar, gentle rhythms of daily life against the limits of space and composition. To him, the skyscraper was not just a collection of steel; it was an invisible volume that connected the people within it. He approached his canvas with a rhythmic precision, treating each frame of glass as a minimalist image in three-dimensional space. These frames harmonised with one another to reflect the interconnectedness of urban existence. His work was a constant experiment in the behaviour of light: how it is absorbed into labyrinths of corridors and stairways, or how it reflects energy back toward the sky.

Through his art, O’Hare sought to reveal the sublime eloquence within the urban void. He did not just paint buildings; he captured the spiritual essence of the twenty-first-century city and the livelihood of those who inhabit it. He left behind a body of work intended to offer the viewer the same peace he found in his own studies: a meditative, soulful, and deeply spiritual experience.

This exhibition serves as the first retrospective of Kenneth O’Hare’s work, organised to honour his memory and celebrate his artistic legacy. This collection has been brought together with the dedicated support of his twin brother to provide the public with a comprehensive look at O’Hare’s thoughtful vision of the modern world.