The Kerry-based artist whose work was informed by colour and a love of the natural world …
Currently on at Sheen Falls Lodge, Co Kerry is an exhibition celebrating the life and artistic legacy of the late Christine Bowen, who died in February this year. The exhibition, “Nairobi to Neidín: A Tribute to the Life and Art of Christine Bowen”, in the hotel’s Sir William Petty Suite explores her relationship with Kenmare and the hotel, where her work forms part of the property’s visual identity.
Christine’s work was defined by its immediacy. Drawing from memory rather than directly from life, she distilled her subjects to their essential forms, allowing traces of the original drawing to remain visible. Layers of transparent paint sit alongside incised passages and richly textured impasto, while her flowers, animals and landscapes retain a sense of movement, rhythm and personality.
Her experience of living and working in Kenmare is also key to her work. What set her apart from many other artists who are drawn to this area was her resistance to cliché. She avoided panoramic landscapes, preferring to focus on more intimate subjects – a swarm of bees, a stray sheep, a serene swan or the glimmer of fish below the surface of the water, treating these with refreshing originality.
A striking botanical mural by Christine adorns The Falls Restaurant, another is called At St Finan’s Well, a large-scale mural for the main reception. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Holy Well of St Finan, situated beside the hotel, the work weaves together layers of local history, archaeology and the natural world. The waters of the Sheen River flow through the composition alongside fish, rhododendron, iris and references to the area’s long-standing fishing heritage.
I also associate Christine with beautiful floral and fashion paintings too. Her series of delicate Neidín dresses float on hangers, the patterns on the fabric coming alive with the movement of flowers, birds, butterflies and bees. These are sometimes combined with fragments of poetry by WB Yeats. An essay by Frances Ruane recounts: “The original series of dresses was begun during the building frenzy of the Celtic Tiger and splurge of consumer spending. According to the artist they were originally called Builders Ball Dress, evoking ‘the destruction of the countryside’ and acting as ‘epitaphs to the birds and fish and all the rest that were affected’.”
In the eulogy to their mother, her children Nicolas, Caroline and Julia-Daisy shared: “To mum her art was her tool, her voice, her confidante and sometimes her enemy. She used her art to process her place in the world, her emotions fully on show. Although the naked eye cannot always see, she exposed herself in her work and this is a difficult, raw and a sometimes combative process, but to her it was vital, and so was she.”
Do pop into Sheen Falls Lodge to see the exhibition, or Dublin’s Trinity Townhouse Hotel where her work also adorns rooms and reception areas. Brian Loughrane, general manager of Sheen Falls explains: “We hope this exhibition allows those who knew Christine’s work to experience it again, while introducing a new generation to the remarkable artist she was.”
Need to Know: “Nairobi to Neidín: A Tribute to the Life and Art of Christine Bowen” forms part of Art at the Falls, presented by Gormleys at Sheen Falls Lodge until October 18. The wider exhibition brings together works by Patrick O’Reilly, Ian Pollock, Mark Rode, Liam O’Neill and Debbie Chapman alongside internationally recognised artists including Andy Warhol, Banksy, Salvador Dalí and Tracey Emin. Visit christinebowenartist.ie or gormleys.ie for more information.
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