Set amidst a mythological world of decaying castles and mausoleums, imagined rituals, and unnatural fauna, Paul Rahilly’s colorful, painterly works feature nudes, animals, and dreamlike objects. Using oil paint in a manner that recalls Peter Paul Rubens’ fleshy nudes, Rahilly creates scenes that are realist in style, yet surrealistic or fantastic in subject. However, he dismisses the importance of such matters in relation to his formal considerations, having once said: “No one goes to opera for the plot.” He is also an accomplished still life painter, creating lushly impressionistic pictures that blend the real and the abstract.